Philophobia
by ADAMalchemist
Summary: 'He knew it was going to be a bad day from the moment he woke up, slipped on the sweatshirt in an angry manner, and looked in the mirror. "Another day in paradise." ' HiccupxJack or Frostcup as others call it. Modern AU. Not very good at summaries.
1. Friends

**A/N: Hello. I don't know what to say other than this is my first crossover yaoi pairing fic. I've recently come into contact with the pairing Frostcup and decently liked it. So, yeah. This is the product of my strangeness. It'll start off slow like this at first, but, if enough people like it, I'll continue. I don't own HTTYD or ROTG. Warning for crappy writing.**

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"How has your day been?"

To anyone, this would be completely pathetic. But, honestly, it's the most normal thing he has ever done. From the time he was born, he had noticed how social humans were to one another. How the kids on the playground would walk up to complete strangers and introduce themselves. All except for him; whom everyone avoided as if he were an incurable disease.

So, being human like the rest of the children, he decided he needed someone to talk to other than his plush dragon toy. He had tried to talk to the toy once before and his father worried for the boy's mental health. Instead, he began talking to a bird.

The bird wasn't all that cute and it didn't talk back, but, it was living, breathing, and willing to listen it seemed. That is, until it flew away at the feeling of the child's warm breath. He sighed and hugged his toy dragon, watching as his last chance of making a friend flew up into the darkened clouds. Silently, he relaxed into his overly puffed coat and his face almost disappeared. The thick snow on the ground began soaking the boy's pants, yet, he still didn't get up. No, it was too embarrassing to even try. He'd rather hide in his giant coat than go sit on the bench and be seen by the other children, setting himself as an easy bully target.

He had tried many times before to find a friend; someone to talk to and come home with to watch television or play board games. But, as soon as he approached another human, they brushed him off and called him by a term he knew as 'mistake', 'runt'. There were times he, and at times his father, thought of him as a mistake. And there were occasions where he could be considered the runt of the litter.

The term stuck to him like a slug's slim on the road and, after a while, he began to forget his real name.

Footsteps quietly approached him, making him bit his bottom lip in fear that it was a bully. His buck teeth cut into his chin and his eyes closed tightly as the footsteps stopped right in front of him. He could feel himself shaking and at that moment, he wished he was a turtle. A turtle with a small shell so nobody would be able to notice him in this snow. He began to press himself further into his coat, bracing for the worst when –

"I like your dragon."

What? Had he just heard that correctly? Slowly, he lifted his head up to stare at the owner of the strange comment. He smiled at the small boy, brown eyes twinkling happily. This child, he hardly had anything on! A pair of shorts, a sweatshirt; where were his parents? He held out a hand to the wannabe turtle.

"Do you wanna go play?" He asked, pulling the grape flavored lollipop out of his mouth.

Who was he? Did he know anything about him? Was this a trick someone was playing on him? He raised an eyebrow at the brunette, hesitantly taking his hand. "Okkaayy…what's your name?"

"My names Jack!" He said proudly. "Jackson Overland! What's your name?"

With a tug of the arm, the smaller of the two now stood on both his feet. He rubbed his running nose on his sleeve and shuffled his feet, his forest green eyes staring down at the snow. "H-Hiccup." He said, not as proudly as the other. "Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the third."

"Haddock? Like, the fish?"

Hiccup nodded, trying not to break out in a smile. Mainly, when people heard his full name, they focused on the first one. How the meaning of the term fit him so well and how they could use it against him. Knowing that this child might haven't had heard the term before made him flutter for a moment. "Yeah, like the fish."

"I like fish sticks."

Other children and their parents watched as the two played on the swings, slid down the slides, and climbed back up as best they could. Little Jackson eventually convinced the fish child to try his strength at the monkey bars. With skinny, noodle arms and small, boney hands, he grabbed a hold of the first bar and hoisted himself up only to fall a second later. The other children laughed and pointed, making Hiccup wish he was back at the base of the tree hiding in his gigantic winter coat. His new friend glared at the others and helped him to his feet. They repeated this process several times before the smaller one finally got the hang of it. And this is where they stayed; talking to each other while hanging off the bars nobody else wanted to touch. They talked about simple things. Pets, birthdays, favorite things to do, favorite things to eat. He learned that the brown-eyed boy was seven, a year older than himself, didn't have any pets, loved playing in the snow, and hot dogs were his meal of choice; covered with mustard and ketchup. The other didn't learn that much about his smaller companion; only that he stuttered, he liked drawing, and French fries with chocolate shakes were amazing together.

He chuckled at the child's attempt hide his face and patted him on the head. In the right light, he could see natural red highlights in his hair. It was stunning and reminded him quickly of falling autumn leaves.

Hiccup trembled under his hand from the cold, looking over at the group of bullies that started making their way toward them.

He had known the group practically since birth and dreaded every moment his father had a business party. Snotlout was the leader of them. His nose stuck up like a pig and his face puffed out as if he had oranges in his cheeks. At the age of four, the brunette proclaimed that the bully's name would be Snotface. When he screamed in anger, it was changed to Snotlout. At first, the child meant to say loud but, due to him having a cold that day, the word accidentally came out as 'lout'.

By his sides were Tuffnut and Ruffnut; twins that constantly had their hands curled into fists and dumb grins on their faces. They received their names after giving him his first black eye and split lip at around five years old.

He sighed as the three pointed and laughed, causing the attention of Jack. "Well, well, well, if it isn't the little mistake." The pig nosed boy said.

Hiccup just stared back for a moment, trying to will his body to move. He opened his mouth but nothing came out. This gave the group something to laugh at before turning to the new face. "Who are you? Don't you know what_ he_ is?"

Jackson shrugged. "He's a kid named after a bodily function. Although, I think he might be a turtle." He looked down to see the boy hiding in his coat. "Are you a turtle?"

"No…" The other whispered, looking into his brown eyes.

With a nod, he turned back to the odd eight year old and tried his hardest to make his nose stick up so he could mock him. "He's not a turtle. He's a kid like all of us."

The twins laughed and began pounding their fists into their hands. Oh, his head was spinning just thinking about the beating. In a matter of seconds, his eye would be black and the taste of iron would overpower his mouth. He closed his eyes tightly and braced himself for the fists that usually felt strangely like bricks.

"Bah! He's not a kid! He's a runt! A fishbone! A waste!" Snotlout shouted, his chubby finger pointed at the smallest of them all.

Jack glared at the bully and stood between them. "He's my friend and I'll not have you talk about him like that. Now leave us alone!"

He picked up the largest and thickest stick on the ground, advancing toward the small group with a threatening look. The first to run away was Ruffnut, her braids coming undone as she fell onto the snow. Tuffnut wasn't far behind, screaming with flailing limbs. Snotlout let out a threat that they'd be back and ran off with a clearly scared expression. Hiccup slowly allowed his head to pop out, his green eyes looking all around for any other attackers. When he saw his new friend standing there with a large branch that could be considered a small tree, they went wide with amazement. The only other person to stick up for him was his mother and that was hardly ever considering she was around his father much too often. She never meant to be cold toward her son, but, she didn't want to embarrass her husband and the smaller boy understood completely.

He uncurled from his makeshift shell, dragon toy clutched firmly in his hands. "You stood up for me…" He said.

The seven year old nodded with the goofiest smile childhood ever did see. "Well, I like you. I don't want to see you hurt."

And just like that, the two were almost inseparable. After school, Jackson would walk with Hiccup and urge him to stop at the playground. They hardly did. A few times during the nights, the older boy would knock on his friend's window and drag him outside to play. Mostly, they just sat on the swing set and talked or looked up at the stars, trying to find constellations. Those were the moments he liked the most. No expectations, no one to disappoint; just him, Jack, the stars, and the snow. He thought nothing could ruin this.

Two weeks of nearly perfect bliss. Two weeks of sneaking around, climbing out windows, hidden snowball fights. And tonight wouldn't have been different.

He laid in his bed peacefully; eyes closed, breathing steady. If anyone were to walk in, all they'd see is a seemingly sleeping runt and a few toys laying on the floor. What they wouldn't see is the thick clothes he wore and the hat that sat perfectly on his head. His ears were open and they listened for the four taps on the window that came almost every other night. As he waited, he could hear the house breathe as if it were actually alive. Footsteps here and there, the sound of the television shutting off, his father's snoring; even in the dead of night, it was alive.

_Tap, tap, tap, tap_...

The sound made him jump up and slide into his winter boots. His once peaceful looking face had turned into the goofiest one of all, a grin spanning from ear to ear, his slight buck teeth going over his lower lip. It took everything in little Jackson's power not to burst out laughing at the sight. With a stumble here and a grunt there, Hiccup climbed out of his bedroom window and ran with his best friend to the park.

On the first night, the smaller one was filled with dread of being found out; that the people living near the playground would call his father. But, after a few days, he found out that they were too far away to wake anyone up. The closest building was the small ice skating rink and activity center which held the day camp during the summer.

As soon as they entered the fire fly lit grounds, the first snowball was thrown. The war started without proper forts. Both children scurried across the fields, finding shelter behind slides and under benches. The younger one was slow and couldn't make enough ammo in time. He was no match for the taller brunette who made the throw able orbs in nearly record time. With pale hands, he threw three toward his friend and began running to a new hiding spot. The battle lasted but twenty minutes with Jack as the victor. Poor Hiccup laid on the ground, staring up at the night sky in defeat. He hardly notice his companion walk over and lay next to him until he felt a hand hold his own. It was cold and wet from throwing snowballs, making him glance down at it before turning to it's owner.

They had done this once before; hold hands as they looked at the stars. And, each time they did it, he felt their bond become slightly stronger. Something he couldn't explain. He turned back to the stars and took in every twinkle, every light, all the energy they gave off.

"What do you think they are, Hic?" Jack asked. "The stars, I mean."

The other shook his head, holding tighter onto his hand to warm it. "I don't know. My dad says that the stars, the moon, and the sun are all Gods. And that they're watching us…judging us…testing us. But I don't believe that."

"Then what _do _you believe?" He asked, turning to the slight red head. The way his lips curled in thought, it made him think of his own parents; how they used to kiss each other goodnight and goodbye. When he asked about the action, his mother said it was to show others how much they care about them.

After a moment of deep thought, he smiled. "I think that it's something more." He said. "I believe that each star was a good person that used to live. When a good person dies, they are sent into a world of happiness and look down at us from above. They guide us, protect us. Maybe even love us."

Jack stared at the other for a moment longer. He tried to count every freckle but lost track several times. Giving up, he stared into his zoned out eyes. The city lights were mostly out which made the stars sparkle more, reflecting off his eyes. He could see every twinkle, every movement and he couldn't help but smile.

The beeping of Hiccup's watch pulled them away from their fantasy world and forced them to sit up. He sighed and looked at the time. "We need to go home now…" He mumbled.

"Wait." The seven year old said, placing a hand on his friend's arm.

His green eyes turned to face his brown. They stayed like this for a moment, just staring at each other. He held his breath stared into the melted chocolate orbs the other held, not noticing that the gap between them was slowly getting smaller until he felt his cold lips touch his own.

At first, it felt wrong. About as wrong as drinking orange juice after brushing your teeth. His eyes went wide as he pulled away. But, that felt wrong as well. Jack rubbed his arm and looked away, opening his mouth to apologize when Hiccup leaned forward and pressed his warm lips against his once more. This time, he was the one with plates for eyes. He pulled away and looked up at him.

"Was that wrong?" He asked, fidgeting as he stood up.

The brunette shook his head and smiled. "No."

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**A/N: Should I continue or not or...what? - ADAM**

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	2. Tears

**A/N: Alright, wow. That was a lot of reviews. Thank you. I've never gotten that many reviews in one chapter before. I guess I should continue then, huh? Tell you what: If I get at least 100 reviews by the end of the fic and a big enough following, I'll make a sequel. Sound good? Anyway, lets continue with my crap ass writing you all seem to love.**

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"Because I care about you."

This was the only answer poor little Hiccup had gotten when he asked about the act he shared with Jack. Strange how one small thing such as a kiss could get your head spinning and your heart pumping. He would sit at the table with his family during dinner and awkwardly start thinking about it, lightly touching his lips in thought.

Whenever he saw the seven year old after that, he would want to do it again; press his warm lips up to his cold ones. But, not only were people all around him, he wasn't sure if this was the way he was supposed to feel. Yeah, of course he cared about his best friend. Was he supposed to care this much, though? Upon asking his father on the subject of kissing and feelings, he received a college lecture. He then would complain to himself that he was in the first grade and wasn't ready for those kind of talks.

Everything seemed to be brighter when he was with him. The snow wasn't that cold anymore and he didn't feel the need to hide himself in his giant coat. Although, he still did whenever Jack showed Snotlout up, just to hide his laughter.

Instead of him showing up every other night, it turned into every single one. The four taps became quicker each time and the younger one's boots would already be on his feet when he jumped out of bed. Over time, they ran out of things to talk about and simply just laid there enjoying each others company.

Hiccup would continue to stare at the stars, trying his best to count them but always lost track after one hundred and fifty two and Jack would lay on his side and poke the other's freckles, making different designs each time as he played connect the dots. Their hands would be linked between them and the world would be silent. Nothing could seem to go wrong.

Some nights, the smaller of the two would fall asleep in the field and wake up in his bed with no recollection on how he got there. The only clues he had were an open window, wet footprints, and water dripping from his cheek.

Tonight turned out differently. As the Haddock child lay in his bed, fully clothed and ready for another night of being a ninja, the window opened with the sound of sniffling. He blinked his eyes open and saw a darkened figure stand in the middle of his bedroom. Turning on the light, he found Jack standing there; no shoes and tears streaming down his face. He only had one pair of shoes and they were torn, battered with holes, stains all over them. Still, they were the only protection he had against the snow.

He stripped off his heavy coat and threw it to the side, taking the other's hand in his. "Jack?" He asked as he looked him over. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"Can I stay here tonight?" He managed to say through quiet sobs.

Hiccup nodded and walked him over to his bed, kicking off his boots in the process. There was no way he was going to say no especially to him and that face. It'd be just as wrong as stealing something. And it didn't matter if the bed got wet when the snow that clung to him melted, it'd be dry by morning anyway.

Climbing in as well, he threw the blanket over both of them and instantly was hugged by his cold, crying friend. He hugged back and stared at the tears as they streamed down. A few patches of dirt stuck to his cheeks with clear, pale lines running through them. From what he could tell, this boy had been sobbing for a while now. Rubbing circles into his back, he whispered promises of snow cones and ice cream, sweet things the other enjoyed immensely. All he received in return were nods and more quiet cries.

Jack's grip on the smaller boy grew tighter, one hand on his waist the other trapped in his red-brown hair. The events that had happened at home flooded his mind. How could someone do that to a person they loved? It was unthinkable, horrible. He still can't believed it happened.

Sniffling, he placed his chin on top of his friend's head. "H-Hiccup…" He sobbed out.

Hardly ever did the other use his full first name. Usually it was nicknames, 'turtle', 'Hic'. At first he knew something was wrong. Now, he knew it was something terrible. He opened his mouth to answer back but was quickly interrupted.

"Hiccup, I promise. I promise I'll take care of you a-and I promise to never hurt you." He sniffled once more as his cries began fading into nothing. "I promise…you're my Hiccup and I'll take care of you…"

Tears began wielding in his eyes as he heard the oath he took. One trickled down his cheek and called the attention of the taller boy who looked down at that very moment. He raised the hand that was rested on a thin waist and whipped it away, not wanting Hiccup to taste the salty eye water. No, his Hiccup was more into sour things; lemon drops and green apples. He deserved the best even if he couldn't give it to him. Placing a small kiss on his forehead, he drifted off to sleep; the other following suit a second later.

It was hard explaining everything to his father and mother the next morning. He left out more then he should of as he spoke, only talking about his friend crawling in through the window and asking to spend the night. If his family knew the whole of the story, they might not approve and they'd tell him never to see Jack again. Although, as he stood there in the check-out line with his mother and a cart of groceries, he began to think that it was hardly possible. They loved him, after all, didn't they?

The sound of laughter pulled him from his thoughts, almost forcing him to look at the source. In the next line stood two grown men holding hands as they placed their items down. The cashier talked with them, congratulating them on moving into the neighborhood. Never did Hiccup see such a couple, so happy just being themselves. He couldn't help but smile and imagine him and Jack placing items of their own down on the belt. Yes, that's how he wanted it. He wanted to live happily and hold hands openly without worry of judgment or hate. Just like these two. It seemed only right.

He watched as they placed cups of chocolate pudding and a frozen cheese pizza on the belt. It reminded him of the seven year old. At school, they get the choice of either fruit or a pudding cup to go with their lunch. One day, Jack seemed overly excited. They had chocolate pudding as the choice that day and he gladly took it. Sitting next to Hiccup, he spread the pudding over the plain pizza slice and ate it with the biggest grin of all on his face. The six year old told him that it was gross, but, didn't stop him from eating it. With a plastic butter knife, he cut a small square for his friend to try and put it on the table. Hesitation made his hands shake for a moment before taking the square and eating it. Contrary to popular belief, it was rather good. But, he wouldn't try it again. He was more into sour things than sweet.

"Hiccup?" His mother asked.

Snapping back to reality, he looked down at his fingers which grazed his lips lightly. He shook his head and looked up at his mother. "Yes?"

She stared at him for a moment, wondering just what he was doing with his fingers that close to his mouth. Or rather, what was he thinking about? More than likely food or maybe what cartoon would be on when he got home.

Dinner that night was by far the most awkward moment in Hiccup's life aside from when he was born. His father walked in with steam fuming out of his ears and his beard a mess. Something was to his disapproval.

"Welcome home dear." His wife said more chipper then she should have been. "How was work today?"

Stoick tugged on the side of his beard as he mumbled a 'good, good, fine, fine'. When she placed his dinner in front of him, she raised an eyebrow. "Was it? Was it really?"

He glanced over at his son for a moment then at the window, making sure the new neighbors were inside before he shook his head. Stoick was an old fashioned man and took tradition seriously. A little bit too seriously if you asked the right amount of people. He sighed and took his hand off his beard, no longer holding it in.

"I don't approve of our neighbors." He finally spoke. "Why do they choose this lifestyle? I mean, it's insane."

His wife looked out the window toward the newly bought house before looking at her husband. "You mean the Johnsons?" She asked, giving her son his plate. "I think they're nice people."

"They aren't people, dear. They aren't even men." He rubbed his forehead and began to eat.

Hiccup looked up at his father and felt his chest tighten with worry. Him and Jack were like the Johnsons. They held hands, they kissed, they slept in the same bed even if it was only once. Oh, if his father found out the acts he did with his best friend, he'd be on the street before he could say 'labor day'. His stomach turned as he wondered how he'd be able to fit all of his toys and clothes in a hobo sack.

Pushing his macaroni and cheese around, he looked up at his mother. She didn't seemed bothered by the Johnsons one bit. In fact, she seemed to like them. He watched as the two continued talking about the couple. Was it really that wrong?

His fingers curled as he held onto his chair and fork, glancing over at his father before speaking. "They just want to be happy." He said, his own voice reminding him of a mouse. "You know, like in fairy tales."

Stoick's eyes went wide at his son's words. He thought he brought him up differently. With arm rested between them, he stared down at his small son. The six year old looked back up at him and looked like he was trying to hide in his shirt which, wouldn't be hard to do for him. His child was born two months premature and was smaller than most his age.

"Son, have you ever read a fairy tale where two men live happily ever after?" He asked.

Hiccup shook his head, looking away from his father's gaze. "No, Daddy. Have you ever seen a mermaid?"

"No. I haven't." Stoick said as he watched the boy grab the salt shaker.

He sprinkled salt over his peas and placed the shaker back, filling up his fork. "Just because you haven't seen it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist." Eating the peas, he looked up at the grown man and swallowed. "I can't see the air but I know it's there. If air exists, then people like the Johnsons can be happy."

At the other end of the table, his mother smiled. Her son was always so quiet and barely ever spoke up. This was an amazing change. But, when she turned to her husband, she found that his new found courage wasn't so amazing to others. With a look of utter anger, he stood up from the table with his plate and declared that he would be finishing in the bedroom.

It was hard for the child to finish eating after the scene. If his father could accept complete strangers, then, he couldn't accept him, either. The night was full of heated arguments about the boy; where he thought something as stupid as that, how it was a disgrace. Stoick's own son going against tradition, questioning it. The shouts were so loud, he didn't even notice the knocks on the window. All he wanted to do was go to sleep and wake up the next morning with a clean slate. As if none of this ever happened and Jackson Overland wasn't a friend of his at all. He turned in his bed, thinking it over and over and over, his eyes closed tightly.

'_Jackson Overland is bad_.'

'_Jackson Overland is the reason my daddy hates me_.'

'_Jackson Overland will leave me and forget me_.'

'_Jackson Overland_…_promised to take care of me_.'

'_Jackson__ cares about me_…'

'_Jack_…'

It was like a scene from a play. What was the play called, the one his school was talking about going to see? Ah, yes. Romeo and Juliet. It was almost as if he was on the balcony asking why a rose was a rose and why we gave it such a name, what did the name even mean. The clicking and sliding of his bedroom window matched with the opening of his green eyes and, low and behold, there he was.

The brown-eyed boy walked over to his friend and placed a hand on his blanket clad shoulder, his face twisted with concern and sadness. His whispers weren't audible but, he knew what he was asking. Shaking his head, he felt tears stream down his face. Pale hands whipped the salty waters away and stroked his hair until he fell asleep.

Most of the next day seemed new. Snotlout and the twins began their verbal attacks upon Hiccup who just sat there staring into the distance. The only defense he had at that moment was his stuffed dragon which he always carried around. It was small, much like him, and blue with yellow spikes. When he was a baby, he had hated the toy. Now, it was his only friend.

"Where's your bodyguard, huh?" Snotlout mocked as he pushed the boy off the bench. "Left you? Realized that you're just a waste?"

He was beginning to think so. There was no sign of the seven year old anywhere. Maybe he was taken by an eagle or kidnapped by the ice cream man. Another shove brought him to horrible reality.

Tuffnut chuckled, bringing his fist up and slamming it square in his face. His sister, Ruffnut laughed as she watched the runt fall to the ground. "Weakling! A weakling! Weakling! A weakling!" They chanted.

He could have sworn they wore steel-tipped boots. If they hadn't, then they should be spending their time playing kick ball rather than play kick the mistake. Out of no where, they stopped. No shouts from Snotlout, no protests from parents, nothing was heard but the sound of their footsteps and the laughter of children playing. He closed his eyes and just laid in the snow.

"Hic!" Jack's voice called.

The two spent almost an entire hour checking out the damage. Thankfully, there were no broken bones from the feel of things and the bruises didn't look that bad. Stripping his sweatshirt off, the older of the two began ripping it apart. Filling them with snow, he handed the makeshift ice packs to his friend who took them kindly.

Silence settled between the boys and an awkward tension began to rise. It was a miracle they could still breathe. Jack twiddled his thumbs and moved his fingers about. Clearly, there was something on his mind. Hiccup watched as he stuttered some small talk and answered back with simple 'yes' and 'no's.

Rubbing the back of his neck, he turned to the smaller boy and found it hard to look him in those forest green eyes. He was torn apart as he gazed down at the freckles that littered the child's face, not bothering to reach up and play connect the dots.

"H-Hiccup…umm…"

The other raised an eyebrow as he reached over to touch his ice cold hand which, he pulled away. It was almost like taking a needle to the stomach when his friend looked up at him, severally hurt. "Jackson?" He asked.

With a racing heart and tears building in his eyes, he decided to look at the smoothed pine tree pools the other held.

"Hiccup…I'm moving away."

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**A/N: So, I learned while writing this chapter that there's another name for this pairing; Hijack. I told my friend that that's not a pairing name, that's what you do to steal a car. She hit me in the face. - ADAM  
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	3. Birthdays

**A/N: I hate the state I live in; it's freezing cold one minute then blazing hot the next. My brother compared our state to Berk earlier today and, strangely enough, it makes sense. Not sure how I should feel about this. Anyway, enjoy.**

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It was a normal thing for him to do, but, it still felt odd. Whenever he climbed out of the bedroom window, he was hidden by the cover of night and could easily sneak around without nobody noticing. Today, though, the sun was brightly shinning on his face and only heated him up more than he already was. If his parents found out about him running off, it wouldn't end well. Not. At. All.

He began feeling like a wanted criminal and every single person in the streets were policemen waiting to take him in. Hiccup would have to dodge looks, run as fast as he can, and make sure not a single person saw him. With his backpack full of clothes, his stuffed dragon sticking out of the top, he ran off and hid behind the bushes of the Johnson's home. From what he remembered, Jack lived not too far from the park. One night, after looking up at the stars, he showed the younger boy the run down house. It smelt rotten and his fence was so broken, it was hard to still call it a fence. More like random wood around a shack.

Pressing his lips together, he planned the whole rout as quick as he could. The park was almost fifteen houses away; three houses, cross the street, five houses, cross the street, turn the corner, five houses, cross to the other side of the street, two houses, turn the corner. He lifted up and placed the hood of his sweatshirt on his head, looking around to see if anyone was around or if anyone was looking out their windows. Biting his bottom lip, he ran up the street, counting the houses as he passed them. Jumping into a snow banking, he looked around again. Coast was clear. No turning back. As fast as his little legs could carry him, he bolted across the street and continued running; counting houses and dodging looks like a true ninja. The hardest part was when he came to the park. It stood in front of him filled with children and their parents. Hiccup frowned and almost glared as he stared, thinking of a way to make sure Snotlout and the twins wouldn't see him. Then, he saw it. Something twinkled in the corner of his eye. Looking over, he saw all of the cars that belonged to the parents in the park. All, thankfully, lined in a row. The sun was on his side for the time being.

He darted across the street and hid behind the cars, peeking under them to see if anyone was coming. It reminded him of his late night snowball fights with Jack. His lips tugged into a smile as he remembered those times, his buck teeth slightly showing as he let out a small laugh. The brunette jumped to the other car and then the other, successfully making it all the way down the line.

"Yes!" He whispered and threw his arms up into the air.

One of his small fists managed to pump against the last car and set off it's alarm, causing him to yelp, jump, and run with limbs flailing. As he neared his friend's home, he could hear two adults screaming at each other. The man began yelling names at the woman that he had never heard before. Wench, bitch, whore. What did those names mean and why was he saying them to her?

Out in the front yard sat the seven year old, a suitcase by his side and a dump truck toy in his hands. He didn't seem to pay much attention to his parents as he played. Hiccup didn't blame him. Nobody would want to hear such nasty words. And, seeing him so down, it tightened his chest and tears threatened his eyes. He blinked them back and walked over to the fence, bending down so he couldn't be seen by the bickering adults.

"Jack." He whispered, poking his head out. "Jackson."

The boy in question looked up and ran over, looking back at the two. "Don't say words like that in front of my son!" "I'll say whatever I damn well feel like saying!"

"Hic, what're you doing here?" The brown-eyed child asked. "You shouldn't be here."

With the goofiest smile he could pull off, the youngest showed his friend the bag on his back. "I'm coming with you. I think I can fit in the trunk."

Jack stared at him, almost in shock. His eyes stared off and he seemed to be considering the fantastic idea. Well, Hiccup liked to think it was a fantastic idea. Anything that kept them together would be delightful. But, he smiled sadly and shook his head, putting his hands on the smaller child's shoulders.

"You can't come with me."

Such simple words, yet, they struck him down and he felt like the titanic. His goofy smile turned into a horrible frown and his green eyes went wide with sadness. "B-but, you promised to take care of me…you're my only friend."

Why did he have to make this harder than it needs to be? Why did he have to bring up his promise and stutter a well known fact? Sighing, Jack turned and searched his suitcase. A few things began to hung out; shorts, underwear, a shirt. When he finally found what he was looking for, he jumped with a small smile on his face.

He walked over with curled up hands. "Here." The child said before opening his hands to reveal a blue and white weaved bracelet.

It was very simple, almost like he had braided it and treated it as hair. Hiccup remembered when he made this. Just about a week ago during art, the teacher had decided to let them do any craft they wanted. The six year old decided to decorate a plain mug with paint and macaroni, adding a few touches of glitter to give his mother's new mug a 'girly feel' he called it. His friend, however, made the very bracelet he was holding.

"It's a promise; a promise that I will find you again. Okay?" He said, poking his cheek to get his attention.

The brunette nodded and quickly strapped it to his wrist tightly. "I'll be waiting."

Nothing could stop the tears that began to flow down his freckle ridden cheeks. The only person that ever braved past those very freckles was leaving him. Even with this new promise, it still wasn't enough to stop the gross sobs that he let out. With a kiss to his friend's forehead, Jack ran off and grabbed his suitcase. His mother called him to the car while his father yelled at him for being a 'traitor', a 'sneak'.

The Haddock boy leaned his head up and watched as the car drove off. He felt himself sinking, his legs shaking as he turned and started running. There was no need to hide in the snow or behind bushes. He didn't care that people saw as his nasal fluids mix with his salty tears. They all thought low of him, anyway. This wouldn't change a thing.

All voices and sounds around him never reached his ears. The only thing he could hear was the beating of his racing heart. That is, until something caught his backpack strap and caused him to fall backwards.

"He looks uglier than usual." Tuffnut said, standing over him.

He was soon joined by Ruffnut and Snotlout, all three wearing stupid smirks. "What's the matter, crybaby?" The leader mocked. "Did your bodyguard leave you? Finally found out you are worthless?"

Hiccup stood up as fast as he could, hugging his stuffed dragon that had fallen out. "Leave me alone Snotlout!" He shouted and ran down the street.

The group of under aged bullies began laughing at him, chanting their usual weakling chant. Their voices echoed in his mind as he pushed the front door open and slammed it closed. His mother, who was in the kitchen, peeked in and watched as her son climbed the stairs. She went to call to him, ask him what was wrong but stopped when he proceeded to slam his bedroom door closed as well.

The weeks that followed were just as bad.

He didn't seem too interested in things that he once was obsessed with. Once again, he sat alone during lunch and ignored the comments others made about him. Their whispers always made it through his protective barrier, though, and he would look over at where Jack would sit. Whenever this would happen, the brown-eyed boy would smile and wave them off, telling him that they weren't worth listening to. That they didn't know how cool he actually was. He tried to imagine the child's voice with no luck.

The after school and park beatings continued, leaving him with bruises and black eyes. His mother called the school a few times to complain and ask why her child came home looking like he had been run over. The teacher on the other end would say that he had gotten into fights, an obvious lie.

The lies, punches, and evil whispers didn't stop that year. In fact, it was worst year yet. He couldn't count on his fingers the number of times he was strung to the flag pole or how many black eyes he had received. Nor could he count the number of embarrassing fliers that hung in the halls after summer break.

Ugh, summer. If he had to choose, summer would have been the most horrible time in his short existence.

He and Jack had planned their whole vacation out. Amusement parks, water slides, sandcastles; it would have been the best time they ever spent together. Instead, he was sent to camp where they smeared honey over his sleeping frame and poured feathers as a special touch. There were pictures of him waking up in his new chicken form, being pushed into the lake stark naked, even hanging from the basketball hoop by his underwear. Snotlout placed the photos all over lockers and classrooms when school began.

Everyday after his torture and humiliation, Hiccup would rush home and check the mail box in hopes that his best friend had sent him a letter. Sadly, it'd be empty most days. He would sit in front of the phone every weekend and pray to the gods that Jack remembered his number. But, the only people that called wanted to talk to his mother or his father. Every now and then, the phone would ring and Stoick would pick it up. He'd mumble a few words before setting it back down, claiming that it was a telemarketer. After a few months, he started to loose hope and think that maybe Snotlout was right. Maybe Jack _did _find him useless. When those thoughts came into play, he would look down at the simple bracelet and would be reminded of all the promises the other had made.

Autumn soon came and with it, his birthday. His mother invited all of his classmates to come to the party in the hopes that at least one would take the place of his best friend.

When the day finally came, Hiccup had expected the usual; a few gifts at the table from his parents and other relatives, a large cake, many decorations, and no guests. Yet, he got ready anyway. Placing a party hat on his head, he sat with his stuffed dragon in the living room and watched television.

"Hiccup!" His mother called almost an hour later. "You have a guest!"

A guest? To his birthday? He raised an eyebrow and walked over, seeing a boy around his age at the door with his own mother.

The boy was chubby, his cheeks puffed out much like a chipmunk's. His nose seemed almost like a button and his eyes were just as small. "M-my friends call me Fishlegs." The child mumbled, holding a small box in his large hands.

"Fishlegs?" Hiccup asked and looked down.

Sure enough, under the husky frame sat two stick like legs. It was a miracle they held up so much weight.

The two played all day and even talked a few times. By the end of the party, the floor was littered with drawings of dragons, dirty plates, and wrapping paper. The days that followed seemed to get better. He smiled more and invited Fishlegs over every other day. Whenever they were together, he would softly touch his lips and wonder how Jack was doing; if he had missed the clumsy boy just the same. As soon as the other's face appeared in his head, there was a knock on his bedroom door.

His mother stood there with a smile and declared that it was time for his new friend to go home.

"And Hiccup," She said, her car keys jingling in her hand. "I'm going to the store. Do you want to come with me?"

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**A/N: Them going to the store is important. Trust me. Sorry the last bit seems rushed, I had a brain cramp in the middle of writing it. - ADAM **

**Reviews = Motivation = Chapters**


	4. Classes

**A/N: Hey everyone, have a good day? Yeah? Well, let me just sit right here and ****_ruin it for you with angst_****. Nothing personal :) Any who, enjoy some crap ass writing.**

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**Ten Years Later…**

First day impressions are everything. It doesn't matter if it's your very first day of middle school or your first day as a Junior in high school, the impression you make on that day effects the rest of that year. That one day could mean the difference between sitting with the popular kids or having your head shoved down a toilet. And this year, he was hoping that everything would be different. This year, he wasn't going to be pushed into a trash can or hung in the locker room after gym. No, this year was going to be his year and he was going to make sure everyone knew it.

He had been standing in front of the mirror for almost seven minutes, staring at what he had on. Short sleeved brown sweatshirt, long sleeved green shirt, jeans, and his usual green converse. He glanced over at his night stand and contemplated on if he should wear his glasses. In truth, he only needed them when he watched television, played games, needed to see something far away, and went to the movies. But, there were times where he kept them on just because he liked to be able to see everything. With a sigh, he grabbed his bag and hiked downstairs. Nothing said 'geek' like glasses.

Stoick was already downstairs, cooking breakfast as he hummed. He wasn't the best cook in the world and usually allowed his son to make their meals. Every once in a while, though, he liked to treat his only child and let him sleep in late.

Upon seeing the teen slump into his seat, he smiled. "Ah, good morning, son!" He said cheerfully before handing him a plate of perfectly burned eggs.

"Uh, good morning…dad." Hiccup looked over the…'food' on his plate. '_How in the world could someone _burn_ eggs_?' He wondered to himself.

"Eat up, Hiccup." His father ordered lovingly. "You've got a big day ahead of you."

He stared down at the horrid breakfast Stoick had made him and could only imagine the charred, rough texture on his tongue. Not even Toothless, his black Labrador dog who ate almost anything would eat this.

Shaking his head, he pushed the plate away and picked up his bag. "Um, I think I'll eat at school. You know, free breakfast and lunch and all that."

"Suit yourself. More for me."

Toothless sat at the back door, his tail wagging furiously as his master came into sight. His front paws began to dance across the floor the closer Hiccup got. When the door finally opened, the dog bounced up and ran outside. It didn't take long before he was done, but, he became distracted as he started walking back inside. A small spot of light hit the shadows and called him to play. He barked at it, jumping all around as he tried to eat it. His master sighed. It was times like these that the brunette wondered why he stilled called his dog a…well, dog. He acted more like a cat than anything else; always cleaning himself with his paws and whatnot, always trying to climb up on high places.

The teen whistled for his pet to return. Toothless didn't come. He whistled again. Still nothing.

After several attempts, the poor boy ended up having to pick up his overgrown pup and bring him inside himself. The wannabe cat whimpered and looked up at his master with large, innocent eyes; almost pleading to go back outside and chase the mysterious light. He ignored the eyes Toothless gave him, quickly running out the front door.

The time was 6:48 am exactly. The teachers would be arriving in five minutes and the library doors would be opened three minutes later. That left him seven minutes to run or walk depending on what he felt like and another minute to find a place to hide in the library. Usually, he hid in the way back on the left side where all the mythical being books were kept. This way, he wouldn't be seen if Snotlout and the twins were to walk by. On the first day of freshmen year, he made the mistake of sitting at the tables in front of the giant windows looking into the library. He came home sopping wet from being tossed into the school's pool.

Fishlegs, his one and only friend, came out of his house just as Hiccup came around the corner. Both were silent, but, still exchanged smiles and a small wave. The bullies lived not too far away and the two would always get scared that they would hear them if they were to talk on their way to school.

It was the first day of their Junior year. Looking over his friend, he could tell he was nervous as well. His blonde hair stuck out from under his baseball hat and he played with the bottom of his rather large jersey. Fishlegs was quite the baseball fan, keeping news clippings of his favorite team up over his desk on the wall. He had tried many times to get on the school's team only to fail each time.

Hiccup played with the strange bracelet on his left wrist. The blue and white strings were weaved, much like a braid. Surprisingly, both colors stayed as bright as they were when he was little after all these years. He _never_ took it off.

Fishlegs had questioned his friend many times on where he got the bracelet and the answer was always the same: Hiccup couldn't remember.

After that day all those years ago, his memory hadn't been the same. At certain times in certain places, he would chuckle at a random memory he had acquired at that moment. Or he would strike up a conversation with his father about the newfound part of his history. Sometimes, he would lay awake in his bed and try to imagine the faces of his past. In the end, though, they came out blurry like he had been underwater.

As the school came into view, he looked down at his phone. 6:52 am exactly. His heart sank into his stomach and swirled around as he wondered if Snotlout or the twins made it before they did. Mumbling a few 'good morning's and one or two 'hello's to teachers, the two slid into the library and hurried into the back left corner. Fishlegs dropped his backpack and panted as he leaned against the wall, soon sliding down to sit on the floor. His friend did the same, pulling out his small green notebook. Inside were writings and drawings, most of which were of snowflakes and dragons. Some of the pages contained old Norse characters which he had written down during heritage week every year. It would be one of the best and one of the worst weeks out of the whole school year. He would constantly be thrown into fights with classmates that questioned his Viking heritage. Of course, it always ended with him either in the nurse's office or hanging off the bathroom wall.

Peering over his shoulder, Fishlegs watched with awe as he began drawing a small dragon in the corner of a page. "You're so good at that." He admired.

"Good at what?" Hiccup asked. "Scribbling?"

"No, you're really good a drawing." The other said, leaning back to look at the smaller brunette. "And writing, too. I wish I had the same talent as you."

The soon-to-be sixteen year old looked over at his friend with a look of 'are you kidding me'. In his eyes, his tiny scribbles and sappy words were no more than just that. Tiny, sloppy scribbles and meaningless, sappy words.

He placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder and smiled slightly. "I wish I had the same talent as you, too, Fishlegs. Wish I could play baseball as good as you."

"I can't play baseball, you know that, Hiccup." He took his hat off and looked it over. "Can't even make the team…" Fishlegs mumbled.

With another smile, he placed the hat on his friend's head. "It's because you're too good. You're better than the rest and it wouldn't be fair."

Of course, that wasn't true. Both boys knew this. He couldn't even hit the ball when it was thrown at him. Still, it was nice to hear that he was good at something he loved.

The bell rang and the two stood, heading out of the library with caution. One wrong step, one twist of the head and it could be all over. They both kept their eyes down and walked as fast as they could to their first classes. Hiccup shared third and fourth period with Fishlegs. Second period he shared with the twins and Snotlout. He sighed as he walked into Health class by himself. Not too many students occupied the room; two girls, four boys including himself. But, as the second bell rang, the teens started walking in with the teacher right behind them.

The first day of classes were always full of introductions, year planning, and boredom. As well as plenty of time to draw, write, text, anything the teens could do without getting caught. Even as he had his nose stuck in his small, green notebook, he kept his ears open for what the teacher talked about.

First quarter: physical health.

Second quarter: sex ed.

Third quarter: mental health.

Fourth quarter: medical practice.

When it was time for introductions, he quickly stood up and mumbled his name. This continued to the next class; P.E. Many kids began stretching as soon as they walked into the gymnasium. Hiccup just sat ideally by and watched, almost trying to hide in the bleachers. Ruffnut and Tuffnut had been kicking each other until the teacher came in and broke up the fight. Snotlout was playing basketball with a group of husky teens much like himself, making a basket every time and gloating about it. He could have sworn the horse was well beaten and dead.

'_Yes_, _we all get it_.' The brunette thought to himself. '_You_'_re perfect_, _you can make baskets_, _you_'_re the best football player_. _We get it_, **_we get it_**, **_we get it_**.'

When the fight between the twins was over, everyone was called into a group to play a small game. It's how physical education always started every year. The kids would stand in a circle, throw a ball to someone and they must say their name. The group would then repeat it back and continue with the next person.

As the game started, Hiccup's stomach began to freeze with nervousness. When the ball was tossed toward him, Snotlout caught it. He announced his own name then turned to the other, much scrawnier teen and declared his name to be 'useless'. The others laughed and laughed, repeating the name back. This was the most embarrassing moment of his life so far.

The day only seemed to get worse and worse. Lunch seemed to be all about Snotlout and how 'amazing' he was. Girls and boys alike gathered around his lunch table as he raced against Tuffnut to see who could drink the most milk cartons. Of course, the pigged nose snot faced teen won and did a victory lap around the room, fists pumping into the air. The crowds cheered all expect for Hiccup and Fishlegs who sat silently, playing with baseball cards and exchanging books.

Any teenager would tell you there is nothing like the sound of the final bell. The indication that it was time to put down the papers and turn on the Xbox. Trying to avoid getting caught, the fifteen year old went out the back door of the school and started down the alleyway. Behind the building stood another; the school's pool inside. Hoots and shouts echoed off the tilted walls and soon, the door opened the reveal the terrible three.

"It's the useless!" Snotlout screamed, pointing a sausage finger at him. "Grab him!"

He turned and ran for it, trying to make it to the front of the school. His heart pulsed in his ears and his face braced itself for an intense beating. A lump began to build in his throat as he turned the corner and tripped. This was it. No running now. He was going to get pounded and it was going to hurt. There was no telling what kind of training the three had did over the summer; he had been locked in his house all break.

Turning over to lay on his back, he stared at the way he had came and waited. And waited. And waited.

There were no footsteps, no hoots or shouts. Nothing other than a few cars driving by and one or two students talking in front of the school. Hesitantly, Hiccup stood up and peeked around the corner.

The terrible three laid passed out on the ground, their chests still rising and falling as they breathed. A teen about his age stood over Snotlout and glanced over his shoulder at the brunette. His crystal blue eyes seemed unnatural and dark roots had started forming in his pure white hair. A hospital mask hung off of his face, a snowflake design sown into it in a sloppy manner. His blue sweatshirt made him seem very thin until he looked down at his legs. The tan shorts he wore seemed to make them bulge out.

And around his feet…no shoes? Just wrappings? Who was this kid?

Before he could say anything, the white haired teen walked over and tugged Hiccup's left arm, revealing the strange bracelet. The odd character then smiled and sighed with slight relief as he took his hospital mask off.

"Hic…I found you."

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**A/N: Oh gods, I'm so tired. I'm gonna...yeah, I'm gonna go to sleep. - ADAM  
**

**Reviews = Motivation = Chapters**


	5. Walks

**A/N: I have been on the tumblr again and have noticed a common phrase used by those who write/draw Frostcup/HiJack. That phrase is 'woops, my hand slipped'. Those aren't the exact words, they are changed depending on the person. But, it still has the same meaning. I know they are just joking, still, this is a message for those that write or draw HiJack that have used this: your hand didn't slip. No, it didn't. It ****_danced_**** across the flipping paper or keyboard. It swan laked all over your drawing tablet. Your hand didn't slip, it did the flipping ****_waltz_****. That is all.**

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There were many ways he had envisioned this day. He had imagined that Hiccup would smile the biggest smile the goof ever did give and jump into his arms. He had imagined that Hiccup would press his smooth, honey flavored lips against his chapped, peppermint ones.

What he didn't imagine was the confused look he had at that very moment.

Hiccup, instead of kissing him or hugging him, pulled his arm away and took a step back. He seemed unsure of himself as he did so, almost seemingly getting ready for a fight if need be. The white haired teen frowned as he stared at his friend. He wanted to reach out and hug him, explain everything.

"Hiccup, it's me." He walked forward, almost begging for the other to embrace him. "It's Jack. I know I look different, but – "

"Jack who?" The brunette interrupted.

A look of surprise came across the other's face. Did Hiccup really forget? All the snowball fights, every star they counted together, was it really all gone? He stared at him, pain striking his face. Jack shook his head and went to hold his friend's hand, only to watch as it was snatched away again.

His once happy green eyes were narrowed with confusion. "I don't know who you are. I'm sorry, I think you have the wrong person."

"I don't have the wrong person." But, the words didn't seem to reach the other's ears. The fifteen year old turned and walked away, not wanting to be his next punching bag.

Jack had to think quickly; what was something that could trigger the younger boy's memory? The kissing was defiantly out and so wasn't the nights they spent together. He stared at Hiccup's back as he walked off and noticed something peeking out from his bag. A small, thin green notebook with his complete name written in black sharpie sat there amongst gym clothes and health books. As quiet as he possibly could be, he reached over and pulled it out with expert skill. Inside were dragon drawings and small stories sown into each other.

He smiled as he flipped through the pages. "I like your dragons."

The smaller teen froze in place, slowly turning to the stranger. Fury began to build as he watched him flip through without a care in the world. Only two people saw the contents of that book: Fishlegs and himself. Seeing this complete random idiot read his personal thoughts, go through what he considered his mind made him feel violated.

"Give me that!" He screamed and lunged forward.

Jack, however, was faster than him and moved the book out of the way. He had seen his room as a child, how littered it was with dragon drawings. When he had first walked into the brunette's room, he thought that it was wallpaper; not scraps of scribbled paper.

With a smile, he stared at one page in particular. The creature doodled upon the paper was dark, yet cute in it's own way. It's eyes were huge and it's wings spanned to the other page. A poem laid next to it, speaking about the dangers of this creature. It was, like almost everything drawn in the book, a dragon. The name repeated a few times in the poem, saying how deadly it was. Night Fury was it's name. He nodded in approval and then continued to the other pages that seemed to be beckoning his name.

"You're really good, you know that?" He said, walking away from his friend. "They're so detailed…"

"Give it back!" Hiccup snapped as he swiped it from Jack's cold, pale hands. "Don't touch this! Don't ever touch this!"

The fifteen year old looked over his precious notebook carefully. No papers were bent, no rips on the edges. It was about as perfect as it was when he placed it in his bag. The white haired teen raised his arms to show he meant no harm.

He smiled playfully and backed away, chuckling slightly. "I won't touch it anymore." A small sound came from his pocket and his smile became sad. "Guess I'll see you tomorrow."

Hiccup raised an eyebrow as he watched the stranger run and turn the corner. He waited for a moment, comprehending the event that just happened. This person whom he had never seen before had saved him from black eyes and possibly being thrown into the school's pool.

Everything the other had said and done replayed in his head as he walked home. There must have been a time he had known Jack. The look in his unnatural eyes showed recognition the moment they fixed themselves on him. And, he hated to admit it, but, there was something familiar about the voice he had never heard before. Almost like it had played in a dream or in a movie. The words the white haired teen had said echoed in his ears and, for a moment, he wondered if he'd ever see him again.

This came across his mind many times before when he had met someone new. Usually, it was when he went to the park or when he was at the store. Of course, he never saw those people again; those handful of children his age that acted nice. So it was only natural to assume he'd never see the barefooted stranger ever again. And in some way, he hoped he'd never see him another day in his life. It was all so confusing and caused him to play with his lip like a chew toy as he thought over the emotions. Part of him wanted to see him again, get a chance to know the alleyway fighter past his blue eyed contacts. Another side of him wanted to never know what laid beyond that white hair. For some reason, when the older boy commented on his scribbles and doodles, he could feel his heart stop and his face become hot with a light blush.

Ever since Hiccup could remember, his father had told him how life is supposed to be; how it's supposed to work. A child is born between a man and a woman, husband and wife. The child grows up and goes through school, getting a job after or during collage. As the years go on, the child meets a member of the opposite gender and marries them. The cycle then repeats itself once the husband and wife come together to make a child.

"Being gay is a choice." His father would say. "A choice that goes against tradition."

In Stoick's eyes, men have nothing to offer each other. The chances of them being happy for the rest of their lives were little to none. Many times he had told his son this and many times he had told his son about the dangers of being hurt. That going into a relationship like that, choosing to be that way would get him hurt in the long run.

And it scared him every night when he would lie awake wondering why his heart didn't ache for girls. Why it didn't ache for Astrid, the Junior who his father pushed him eagerly towards every party they had.

For the rest of the walk home, he was frightened by what Jack made him feel. His heart pounded in his ears like how it did when he watched horror movies. He braced himself as he began turning the door knob, almost expecting The Grudge to make her awful sound and crawl down the stairs toward his feet. Hiccup swung the door open and sighed in relief when there was no Japanese ghost at the top of the staircase. Toothless trotted his way over, his tail wagging faster the closer he got to his master.

"Hey bud." The brunette greeted as he patted the dog on the head. "Dad still at work? Must have been lonely today."

Stoick worked as a police officer. His shift started at seven and usually ended around six. The fifteen year old had a love/hate relationship with his father's occupation, leaning more toward hate than love. There were some days he came home completely fine and had nothing to report. Other days he came home reeking of pepper spray, stains all over his uniform, and his mouth blabbering until one of them went to sleep.

Walking into the kitchen, he grabbed a small dog treat and threw it into the air. As almost always, Toothless jumped; catching it impressively. "Let's go for a walk, okay bud?"

Hiccup threw his backpack on the table as he grabbed his pet's leash. The black lab barked happily, pulling on the leash. His master laughed. "Alright, alright! Calm down!"

The walk around the block was a refreshing one. Unlike the walk home, his mind was clear and he smiled up at the birds that perched themselves in the trees. Every once in a while, meaning, almost every minute, his mind wasn't at peace. Every time a person waved to him, said hello to him, or even just walked passed him; Toothless was there to growl and bark. The poor boy kept having to apologize for his dog's behavior and pull him out of the situation. Under certain circumstances, like if Snotlout or the twins were walking past, this would have been fine and would actually help him. But, he had to stop this habit of attacking strangers when they went on walks.

The large animal pulled the teen made of nothing but skin and bones down the street, around a few corners, and through various parking lots. It seemed the further they got, the dirtier the town seemed to get. He was used to clean streets and houses not…wrappers flying in your face and small apartments on top of each other. Most of the buildings that surrounded him were abandoned, red 'x's painted on the doors to show that they needed to be torn down. A few dogs barked and a cat fight violently made itself known a street over.

"Uh, Toothless…" The brunette mumbled. "Why did you drag me down here? It's so…" A man looked up from his place on the street, his brown teethed grin sending a shiver down his spin. "…eerie."

Toothless only answered with another sniff of his sleeve. Pressing his nose to the ground, he ran off in the direction of a large building that could have once been a factory. An ice cream cone sign hung off the side, it's sprinkles faded and color completely gone. Hiccup raised an eyebrow at the sight of the fixture and turned to his pet. As he opened his mouth to ask why they were there, the sound of people laughing made him jump.

"Back here." He whispered to Toothless and hid behind a dumpster, watching as teens and adults alike began walking toward the front door.

Each and every single one of them wore a sweatshirt, each a different color. Squinting his eyes, he could see that they also wore masks. Some covered just their eyes, some their entire face. One in particular caught his eye. A teen wore the blue sweatshirt, his hood covering his head. The mask he wore belonged to a hospital and a snowflake was crudely sown with blue fabric.

His green eyes went wide as he watched Jack converse with the green and purple sweatshirts. '_He must have smelt him on me_.' He thought. '_Damn overprotective dog_…'

Toothless, who sat next to him, growled lowly as they marched themselves inside. He had wanted to see who was that close to his human and inspect them for himself. So far, this new being wasn't setting a very good impression on him.

"Let's get out of here." Hiccup muttered and quickly ran out to the street.

His heart raced and his fingers twitched as he walked through the downtown area. All the possibilities of what could happen ran through his head and only made him bite on his nails. At any moment, someone could jump out and mug him. Or they would jump out and stab him, leaving him to die in the urine smelling street. It was also possible that someone would kidnap him, maybe sell him into sex slavery.

He could feel his blood rush out of his face and down into his toes. His heart stopped as he thought about being on his knees in front of Ja-

No.

No, he couldn't think about that.

He had to think about something else. Something happy. Yes…cotton candy, A plus on a test, snow, clear night skies, stars.

"Hiccup!" The sudden booming voice made him jump and scream until he realized who it was.

"Son, what are you doing here?" Stoick asked as he looked over his frightened child. It was a good thing, he began to think, that he was checking out the lower neighborhoods before returning home early.

When the brunette did nothing but stare at him, he narrowed his eyes. "Don't just stand there, get in the car."

Hiccup quickly scrambled into the car, placing Toothless in the back. Most of the ride back home was awkward, people staring at him as they drove by. It wasn't everyday you see a teenager in the passenger's seat of a cop car. Especially Stoick's. Gobber, his partner in justice, always sat in this seat.

He bit his lip, not minding that his buck teeth were showing. "So, uh, dad." He stumbled. "What were you doing here?"

"I've been checking out the lower neighborhoods." His father answered. "A lot of gang activity lately."

Gang. The word sent ice cold shakes throughout his whole body. Flashes of horrid memories and echoed screams forced him to throw up his arm in defense. He couldn't stop his heart rate, his chest twisting with pain. And then, as quick as it came, the panic attack ended, his body uncurling itself.

Stoick looked at his son calmly. He had done this a few times before and it was slightly natural to see him in such a sad state. "Hiccup, are you alright?"

"Yeah…" He cleared his throat. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine dad."

The memories that had whipped him faded as he reached over to the right side of his head, slowly rubbing the scar that sat under his hair.

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**A/N: First, I want to clear things up. I am not against LGBT people. I'm gay and transgender(ftm) myself. And I don't really want Stoick to be that much of a bad guy, that's why I keep saying 'tradition'. Because that's what he grew up on, 'normal' traditions. In fact, I wish I had a dad like Stoick. Well, not in this way, but like in the movie and in the show. But yeah. Sorry if I've offended you. I had no intention to. Just...sorry. - ADAM  
**

**Reviews = Motivation = Chapters  
**


	6. Masks

**A/N: Sorry that this chapter is completely suckish. I tried my best. But, uh, yeah, enjoy?**

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It was absolutely blistering hot. Even with the air conditioning on, the heat was just too much. Then again, what does one expect when one stands in a room full of humans; the same chilling feeling as being trapped in ice?

The room was rather large but, it still kept the heat in. Jack began chewing the inside of his cheek as he stared at the air conditioner that sat high on the wall. Hopefully, it would cool the place off soon and he could finally feel comfortable. He was never used to the heat, hardly ever going outside during the summer or hot days. Why couldn't they have been called during the night when the air wasn't suffocating him?

"Ya look a lil' annoyed."

Rolling his eyes, the seventeen year old looked over at one of his many…'brothers'. Aster was a tall man, roughly around thirty-five. His slight beard seemed to connect with the hair on his head and the small white whiskers that stood out reminded Jack of bunny rabbits. The mask he wore covered his whole forehead and eyes, an Easter egg painted next to the left eyehole and a plus sign painted on the right. There were many fights based around that single egg, all of them ending with him on top. It wasn't the smartest move to mock and tease the weapons expert of the 'family'.

He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, whipping away the sweat. "Of course I'm annoyed. You know I hate the heat."

Aster chuckled and placed his hand on the teen's hood covered head. "Ya look more annoyed than tha', Snowflake."

"Fuck off, cottontail." Jack didn't want to admit that his friend was right.

All he could really think about was Hiccup. He lightly touched his mask, his fingers skimming across the horrible snowflake design as he thought back on the whole conversation they had all but two hours ago. The look in his green eyes was unforgettable and they pierced into his chest. It seemed like just yesterday that those same, wonderful eyes were wide and lit up by the stars that surrounded the Earth. Now, they were darker, the eyes of someone he didn't know. And it hurt to think that his Hiccup, the one thing that has been keeping him going, didn't want anything to do with him.

Aster scuffed and pushed his 'little brother's' head. "Piss off, Frost." He grumbled before walking over to a few new guys, bruises and black eyes still raw on their faces.

Each member of the pack carried not only a symbol of the family but an individual one all their own. It showed that they were the same, yet, still different from the rest in their unique way. Some were given nicknames based on those symbols. Jack 'Frost', Aster 'Bunnymund'…

"Hey, Jack." 'Tooth' Anna.

The white haired teen looked over at the girl beside him. Her purple sweatshirt helped bring out the many feathers that flowed out of the top of her mask. She reminded him of birds until he saw the small teeth charms dangling from the bottom, sitting on her cheeks and nose.

He smiled even though he knew she couldn't see it. "Hey Tooth. How are you doing today?"

"Oh, I'm alright." She played with her long, very colorful hair as she spoke. "You know, pulled out a few teeth today, filled in some cavities. The usual."

Jack nodded. Many of the older members of the gang had healthy jobs; dentists, doctors, teachers. It had confused him at first why they were part of such a thing in the first place. They were getting money, they had a home. Then, during his first week of being part of this gathering, it dawned on him. None of these people had an actual family. They had no mom or dad, no brothers or sisters. And if they did, they weren't treated the way a child was meant to be treated. They all wanted to be part of a family that understood them, that accepted them, that loved them the same way the Waltons or the Brady Brunch loved their children.

Tooth was more of a mother figure than she was a sister to him. Whenever he was given a hard time by other gangs in the area or needed a place to shower, she took him under his wing. She was very much unlike his actual mother and that's what he liked about her.

Up on the balcony that overlooked the old ice cream factory, two of the oldest members began setting up a microphone stand. The feedback and every bump or groan they made against the actually microphone echoed throughout the room. Out of respect for their leader, everyone removed their masks. Once the seventeen year old placed his under his chin, his face twisted at the strange smell that entered his nose. The whole building smelt like the inside of an empty freezer.

Both members sighed and walked back down the small staircase to join the others. All was silent as their 'father' came out, dressed from head to toe in black as always. His trusted right hand man stood next to him, covered in completely nothing but red.

Pitch Black tapped his finger against the microphone as his mouth twisted into what Jack guessed was supposed to be a loving smile. "I am glad you all could make it."

'_Not like we had a choice_.' He thought to himself.

Red Death shifted slightly as he stood next to Pitch, staring down at the crowd as he did. "As you may have seen, the pesky police department have caught onto our trail. They are circling our territories, bringing in our brothers and sisters. "

Jack looked around. There were a lot less people here than a few weeks ago. It slightly worried him that he might be the next to be brought into a jail cell.

"I have organized a plan to bring them back." He cleared his throat and brought his hands together. "On my way here, I happened to notice a small boy. I thought nothing of him at first until I saw a police cruiser drive up and take him in."

A few of the members began whispering and muttering, some asking if certain people were there in the room. 'I'm over here's and 'right here dumbass's were passed around until Pitch tapped the microphone again, silencing them all.

He stood there, letting the quiet settle for a moment before leaning forward and finishing. "I have asked Red here to look up every member of the police force to see if any have a child. Only one of them does."

Red handed him a large piece of paper, quickly throwing his hands back behind him again. Nobody knew his real name and, frankly, nobody wanted to ask. Just having him stare at you was enough to make you cry for your mommy. Pitch unrolled the picture and showed it to the lot.

Jack's eyes went wide when he registered who it was. There, smiling at him with now dark green eyes was a picture of Hiccup. His heart sank into his stomach as he stared back at his childhood friend and his hands shook. Tooth looked up at worriedly.

"Jack?" She whispered while the others all rambled on.

Their leader raised his hand and caused everyone's voices to fade. "We shall take this boy and only give him back when our –"

"No!"

Everyone's heads turned.

Jack was the youngest of the group but not new at all. He had been in the gang ever since he was seven and knew just what happened to hostages. Hell, he was one up until the age of thirteen. Tooth or Aster would call the police and claim he was their son. He would stay up in a house or strange building with another member, being beaten until they got the ransom. It was easy money and they were set up for weeks, but, he still carried the scars.

If they took Hiccup as an actual hostage, who knows what might happen. They were going easy on him. They wouldn't on Hiccup. And there was no way he was going to let that happen.

Pitch raised an eyebrow and slowly walked down the stairs with Red trailing behind. His blood rushed, his hands balled into fists; he was ready for a fight if need be. When the black clad man stopped in front of him, all he did was look down. Most of the members carried contacts. Pitch was one of those few.

Those awkward gold eyes dug themselves into Jack, almost ripping out his very soul. It was the same look he always got when he had done something wrong. Still, it chilled him to his very core each time.

He looked away, playing with the bottom of his sweatshirt. Nobody else in the room had a blue sweatshirt and it made him feel even more alone than he already was.

"No?" Pitch asked. "Did you just tell me no, little Frost?" His voice churned his stomach yet, still seemed to make him melt.

Jack slowly nodded. "Yes, sir. I did. A-and I have a good reason for doing so."

"Oh I bet you do." He crossed his arms as he stared down at the boy he looked after, clothed, and feed. "I would love to hear it."

Contact blue eyes traveled away from the black fabric chest and found spring green eyes. He stared at Aster, almost begging him, _pleading _him to come over and help. Of course, the elder man shook his head and mouthed out an apologize. He was on his own. Swallowing hard, he narrowed his eyes before looking up. There was no way he was going to show weakness.

"They have files on us, too. I'll get close to the kid, make him trust me, burn the files, and get our people out." Most of it was a lie. He was not going use Hiccup in such a way. But, he had no other choice. Either he did this or they were going to take him.

Pitch looked up in thought. It wasn't long before he rubbed his chin and nodded, agreeing with the proposal. With another raise of his hand, everyone began mumbling again. Some left while others wondered the factory halls.

Aster walked up to him, his eyes narrowing. "Are ya out of your mind, mate?" He hissed through his teeth. "You could've gotten yourself killed!"

"What were you thinking?" Tooth whispered.

Jack shrugged. "I had to protect him." Nobody knew of his relationship with Hiccup. Well, what once was a friendship. Now everything between them was one sided and completely awkward.

He laid in his bed that night and stared out the window. The downtown lights were usually bright, making it hard to stargaze. Every now and then, though, he'd see a little flicker in the sky and smile. He began to wonder just what would have happened if he never went away. Maybe the two would be laying in their old field, counting stars and freckles. The sky would probably be brighter and colors would be vibrant. Orange juice just might have tasted better after brushing his teeth if he never left. If anything, the brunette would at least remember who he was.

The next day was full of suckers and lollipops. The seventeen year old walked around smugly with his hood up and hands seemingly in his pockets. Whenever a person came around the corner, his flattened lips would twist into an evil smile and he'd bump into them. He'd mutter a 'sorry' or 'pardon me' and continue on his way, a few dollars or a watch in his hand. The hours seemed to go by slowly as he waited for the Haddock teen to be done with school. He traded at least four watches, three bracelets, two diamond rings, and a partridge in a pear tree by the time the clock struck two o'clock.

With a bag of lollipops in his sweatshirt pocket, he made his way to the high school. Teenagers and teachers alike all scrambled out the doors, ignoring him as they walked home, to the buses, or to their cars. The cotton candy lollipop in his mouth crushed into bits when his teeth chomped down on it. If Tooth knew he was eating junk food, she'd have his head.

Out of the sea of mostly blondes was a small brunette looking down at his feet. Jack's heart practically leaped out of his chest and his legs almost gave out from under him. The sun hit the boy just right to show of the natural red highlights he always had. It reminded him of better days.

The white haired teen walked over, a little spring in his step as he did. "Hey there."

Hiccup rolled his eyes and stuffed his phone in his pocket. "It's you. What do you want? Are you here to beat me up too?"

"What?" Jack chuckled. "No, I'm not. I just think we got off on the wrong foot yesterday." He held out his hand, taking his hood off with the other. "Let's start over. I'm Jack."

The fifteen year old stared at him, a slight blush trickling on his cheeks. He cleared his throat and looked away, only grabbing the other's finger tips in attempt to give him a hand shake. "I-I'm Hiccup. Horrendous Haddock…the third."

He raised an eyebrow. "Haddock. Like the fish?"

In his mind, he figured there was no way he'd forget that. And, it looked like he was starting to remember. His forest green eyes began to brighten and he smiled, his buck teeth showing slightly. Oh how he missed those cute beaver teeth.

"Yeah. Yeah, like the fish." Hiccup muttered.

The two stood there for the longest time just smiling at each other. It seemed like there was no one else until…

"Hey mistake!"

Snotlout still carried a black eye and a few bruises from yesterday. Jack looked him over and found this to be an improvement. It distracted from the pig nose and fat head. The brunette frowned as his eyes became dark at the sound of the voice.

'_After all this time_,_ he_'_s still bothering him_?' The older teen thought.

One would think that one would change over years and years. Of course, that didn't seem to be the case for the delinquent. Same old big body, same old chubby fingers, same old horrid behavior. Well, it wasn't going to happen again. He swung one arm and leg around to become a wall between him and his Hiccup. This had to stop.

"Fuck off, Snotface! If I catch you torturing him again, I won't hesitate to throw you over a bridge! Do you understand!?"

The brute jumped back with wide eyes. "Y-yes!" He muttered, his voice cracking. Nobody had stood up to him like this with a threat like that.

"I asked **do you understand**!?" Jack shouted.

"Yes sir!" With his long but fatty legs, Snoutlout ran off school grounds in search for his twin sidekicks.

Hiccup stared up at his savor with a look of surprise. Nobody ever stood up for him before. Fishlegs tried once and it ended with his head stuck in a toilet. When Jack turned around, he didn't know what to say. He began stumbling over his words and twisting his hands around in an effort to explain his gratitude. His embarrassing attempt ended when he heard the other chuckle in amusement.

He shook his head. '_Still the same old Hiccup_.' Jack thought and stripped himself of his sweatshirt.

"Um, uh, what are you doing?" The brunette asked, his blush returning to his cheeks.

"This." The teen pushed down the blue t-shirt that he wore underneath and forced the hoodie onto his friend, smiling as he did so. "Wear this and they won't go near you."

Hiccup's fingers cupped over the end of his sleeves and he turned them over with a look of confusion. "Why do I ne-"

"They'll know you're under my watch. Just wear this and nobody will mess with you."

'_Hopefully_…'

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**A/N: More will be explained in later chapters. Can't explain everything in one chapter. No, that would be too nice of me. - ADAM **

**Reviews = Motivation = Chapters**


	7. Bullets

**A/N: I fell asleep! This was meant to be done yesterday but I fell asleep while writing it. Bahh. Anyway, I want to thank you all for the reviews! I've never gotten this many before and it really means a lot to me. Like...you don't even know. Anywho, on with the show.**

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He knew it was going to be a bad day from the moment he woke up, slipped on the sweatshirt in an angry manner, and looked in the mirror.

"Another day in paradise."

For the past week or so, he had been followed, stalked, even watched by the white haired freak. At first it was alright; nobody went around bullying him and he was the first in line during lunch. As the days went on, though, his threats lost their luster and Snotlout's smirks promised future wedgies. Other teens began to laugh whenever the two were spotted together on the school grounds and every sponge in the school was dyed black from Hiccup trying to wash away the horrid sharpie markings on his locker. 'Fag' and 'freak' were very popular amongst the other words they could use. Still, when he was with Jack, he always seemed to forget to tell him to go away; he didn't need him around. When those eyes melted right into his own, the other voices around them faded into nothing.

Of course, if anyone were to ask the brunet about his feelings towards the older teen, it would always be the same answer: "He's just a friendly pain."

Which was a nice way of saying he didn't care much for him. And it was a complete lie. Anyone with common sense and two eyes could see that it was the complete opposite. The way his green eyes batted, his fingers trying to wonder over to the other's pale ones only to be balled into fists at his side a moment later, even the way he laughed showed the true feelings he held. Hiccup had a little butterfly crush on Jack.

The fifteen year old would never admit such a thing and would stumble over his words to convince the confronter that he was straight. In which, he had to do several times.

With a sigh, he threw his backpack over his shoulder and walked down the stairs. Toothless looked up from his pillow in the kitchen, too tired at the moment to rush to his master's feet.

"Good morning, Toothless." His human said with a forced smile. "Want some sausage with your breakfast?"

His tail wagged slightly at the mention of food. As the small teen pulled out eggs, orange juice, and glorious sausage, the motivation to stand up was strong. Barking, he jumped up and stood by the human's side.

Hiccup chuckled and patted his dog on the head. "Hungry today, aren't we? Alright…it'll be done soon."

The smell of it all was intoxicating, causing him to drool slightly as he made it. He whipped his mouth off on his sleeve as he turned the links around and scrambled the eggs. It was a miracle that all the pets that lived around the neighborhood didn't break down the door to get to it. It was also a miracle that nobody called to ask if everything was alright when his dad made his way down the stairs.

Stoick was rather large man. Not from overeating, but from muscles and big bones. Most of the Haddock family was built this way; big bone structure, firm muscles. It was almost funny to watch a Haddock go through a fun house after their child. Their large arms and wide stomachs would get caught between pipes and punching bags. Of course, nobody laughed at a Haddock in fear of being sent to the hospital a moment later. Nobody laughed at a Haddock until Hiccup came around; three pounds, two ounces. Then, the family name didn't seem to mean much anymore. Unless you spoke it to the high school football couch.

The teen yawned and looked up at his father as he ran around looking for the rest of his uniform. "Morning, dad." He managed.

"Good morning, son. Have you seen –"

"Your badge is on the desk in your office." He flipped over the eggs with slight ease.

Toothless barked and tugged at his master's sleeve. He was always the impatient type. Sitting back down when a hand was waved his way, he couldn't help but whimper.

Hiccup groaned, rolling his eyes as he made his own plate. "I know, bud. Calm down. You'll get your breakfast in a minute."

The boy could have sworn they got a vacuum cleaner when they adopted Toothless. It wasn't long before the food in his bowl was gone and he was begging for more. Every Thanksgiving, he was scared that the poor dog would end up in a turkey coma and never come out of it. He would sit there, poking at the pup's paws only to watch as they twitch for a moment. It really was the funniest thing in the world; Toothless' stomach hanging out, his tongue drooping from his mouth. If any unknowing stranger were to walk in on the holiday, they would have sworn the pet was dead.

He chuckled lightly as he watched his beloved dog scarf down two sausage links. Yup, they adopted a vacuum cleaner.

Stoick sighed as he sat down, quickly stuffing his face as he tried to speak. All he could make out was that there were leads on the gang violence and thieving downtown. His eyes went wide for a moment as he twisted his head toward the window, hearing a gunshot.

"What is it, Hiccup?" His father asked, looking out the window as well.

The brunet stared for a moment, only seeing Fishlegs and Jack coming up to the front door. He groaned and threw his backpack over his shoulder. "School."

"Have a good day, son. Make good choices!"

"I'll try, dad!" With that, he closed the door.

The walk to school was as awkward as it was almost every day. Hiccup walked between Jack and Fishlegs, all three completely silent. Every time the oldest teen tried to make a noise, the youngest would shush him into silence, placing a finger on his lips with the angriest look in the world. He would roll his eyes at the look and chew on the lollipop stick in his mouth that still contained small remains of what once was root beer candy.

When the school grounds came into view, not a single student was around. A single teacher, the librarian, made her way up to the door. "See you after school." He whispered to his smaller friend who pushed his head away, his cheeks beat red.

"Y-yeah…" His voice cracked slightly, causing him to clear his throat. "Whatever."

As he watched the teen shuffle up the steps of the school, he couldn't help but smile when Hiccup turned to him when he got to the door. It was almost like he wanted to reach out and pull him in. And, for the most part, Jack wanted him to. But there was no place for him in that world full of drama and homework, bells and whistles, pens and paper. He didn't belong in such an interesting world no matter how much he wanted to. No, his place was with the family, pick pocketing the rich and ransacking the richer.

With a wave and a smile, the blue clad member walked off to go fulfill his duties. The list in his head wasn't terribly long and hopefully would take up most of his day or, at least, until school was over.

He walked almost happily down the side of the school, making his way to the back alley. His mask bounced in his pants pocket and his bare arms swung slightly as he walked. It was weird not having a sweatshirt after having one for so long. It made him feel exposed. Rubbing his arms to try and get that same long sleeved feeling back, he turned the corner, bumping into what he thought was Snotlout. He opened his mouth to say something, anything but an apologize, and looked up. The sight of the red bandana wrapped around the being's bald head caused his mouth to close shut and his eyes to narrow.

There were a few other gangs in the area, not including his own. Of course, they didn't bother remembering the names of the others simply because they thought it gave them more power. Jack knew, though, what to look for when he was walking around. Pitch had taught him since day one; stay away from yellow shirts, stay away from sleeveless men, and definitely stay away from red bandanas.

Contact red eyes bore into his own blue contacts, hands shoving his shoulders. "Who do you think you are?" The man asked. He couldn't have been older then twenty-three.

"Hey, man, it was just an accident." Jack said as he put up his hands, hoping his mask wouldn't fly out or make itself known.

Two other members from the rival group put their cigarettes out against the brick wall, their hands traveling to the black metal that stuck out from their pants. He had never even held a gun before, but, he had been at the end of one many times. Sure, it was always held by one of his own and he knew that it wouldn't be shot at him…that didn't make it less frightening, though.

He kept a straight face as he was shoved again. "If I were you, I'd best get outta here. Unless you want to deal with me."

"Cool your jets, I'm leaving, alright?" The seventeen year old mumbled, turning the corner. Guess he was taking the long way home.

Some say when you've been shot, you don't hear the gun go off. You don't even feel any pain until you look at the wound. Unless you've been shot in the head, of course. So, when Jack heard the shot, he knew that he wasn't hit. A small light on the ground in the corner of his eye caused dust to fly up into the air and his legs to stop.

"Don't tell me what to do!" The member snarled. "Next time, I'll put a bullet in your head! Understand?!"

The white haired teen turned to him and smiled slightly, surprising all three men. "Your point is crystal clear."

For the rest of the day, he couldn't get the image of their faces out of his head; eyes wide, mouths dropped to the ground, nostrils flared. He would chuckle while he rode the bus or walk the streets and caused others to look at him oddly. If only they could have seen those priceless faces.

Sixty-two dollars and seventy-nine cents sat at the bottom of his pocket by the time school was let out. Most, if not all of that went to Pitch. Not just because he was the leader, but he was better with money than the rest of them. He couldn't count the number of times he just wanted to buy things he didn't need. Clothes, food, dental care products, hot water, and shoes for the winter. That's all he needed from others. Pillows, blankets, and anything else that he needed he could get himself by his own means.

Hiccup rushed over to him, eyes wide at the busted lip Jack sported. "Oh gods, what happened to you?" He asked and looked for any other wounds. "Was this from the bullet?"

"You saw that?" He chuckled.

"W-well, yeah. Everyone saw it. We heard fighting and went to the windows and there you were with a gun pointed to your back." The brunet twisted his friend to check out his back, sighing in relief when there was no blood. "Gods damn it, Jack."

The older teen chuckled lightly as he turned back around. One moment it was like he hated him, the next, he was worrying warts onto his face. It gave him the slightest ray of hope that maybe, just maybe, he was remembering how important they were to each other.

He rolled his green eyes and looked up at him, clearly not impressed by the show. "You're going to give me gray hairs before I'm twenty."

"Oh, don't worry about me so much." Jack said, ruffling the smaller teen's hair. "Come on, let's get you home."

The walk home was not as quiet as the walk to school was. They asked each other how their day ways, what they did, how he got the busted lip, and how the other carried a slight bruise on his chin. When they ran out of small talk, they resorted to walking in silence.

Hiccup looked around, watching mothers pick up their sons from bus stops with a heavy heart. His bottom lip curved into his mouth and served as a chew toy, his eyes surveyed the streets for something else to look at. Nothing seemed to come of interest until he looked up. The way the light hit the white haired boy's eyes showed the lines of the contacts he wore. This sight brought a blush to his cheeks and questions to his mind; what was his natural eye color? Was it a darker blue? Was it green like his? Maybe it was brown.

His hand began to move out of his control, his fingers almost grazing Jack's pale ones. The seventeen year old didn't seem to blink at all, his eyes hardly even moving. It was almost like they were posing for him and that only made him even more lost. Only when he turned to the brunet did he look away. His hand balled into a fist and pulled itself back to his side.

"I, uh, um, I can explain."

Jack chuckled. "They're contacts. My real eyes are brown."

'_Oh gods_, _he knew_…' His cheeks turned bright red and his eyes snapped wide with utter embarrassment. "Uh, no! I wasn't looking at your eyes! I was looking at the sun, um, the sky! Yeah, the sky!"

Hiccup stuttered and stumbled over his words, his arms flailing as they tried to communicate his overly confused feelings and thoughts. With a sigh, he dropped his limbs and looked up into the unnatural blue pools that sat in his snow white skin.

He shook his head, unable to speak for a moment even though his mouth hung open. "Jack…where do you go after you drop me off at home?"

The other shrugged, looking down at his nearly bare feet. "I go someplace where I belong."

"That's not a straight forward answer."

Not another word came from Jack as he continued to avoid his friend's green eyed stare. Hiccup sighed and grabbed the elder's arm, surprised at how toned it felt. He dragged him down the street, turning a few corners here and there until his house stood in front of them. Walking down the driveway, he ignored Toothless' happy barks and attempts to jump at him through the window.

He opened the wooden gate door to the backyard and lead the teen up to the rather large tree house that wasn't very high up. Jack remembered this tree house. He and Hiccup used to play in here some days when he didn't want to go to the playground. The floor was still littered with toys, all dust filled and rusted with time. Drawings hung off the walls as well as spiders. In the corner sat a small broom which the owner of the house used to dust away all the creepy crawlies and cobwebs. They coughed and sneezed, the taller of the two sitting down in his old usual spot.

"I'll be back with food, pajamas, and something to sleep on." Hiccup said and made his way back down the ladder.

Jack smiled and shook his head at the memories. Nurf gun bullets still stuck to Snotlout's second grade picture, water wings sat amongst the other pool supplies, all still blown up and ready for the water. It was almost as if he was a child again.

Out of curiosity, he turned to his side and dusted off a layer of grime to reveal something he forgot he had done for the longest time. There, carved into the woodwork were their initials, a simple plus sign connecting them.

J.O + H.H

He chuckled and traced the letters, whispering when his fingers lingered over the double h. "I hope you remember soon…you're killing me here."

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**A/N: Not my best chapter. Eh, I blame it on allergies. Spring does not like me. - ADAM**

**Reviews = Motivation = Chapters**


	8. Drops

**A/N: So, I've been a little sick lately. I hope it didn't effect my writing. Please tell me if it did. Enjoy.**

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There is nothing more inviting than pictures of large men tackling each other into mud, huge trophies with golden footballs proudly displayed on top, and jerseys stained with grass. This was the sight he usually saw upon walking in the door. A few family photos and children's drawings were scattered on the walls but not many. Not enough to draw attention from the news clippings with bold headlines.

Hiccup sighed slightly at it all as he walked down the hall to the closet. If any person foreign to the house were to open the hall closet door, they would scream and jump back in fear. Blankets, pillows, and many other things were all stuffed into the small space so tightly, it looked as if everything would come crashing out at any moment. Without even flinching, or caring for that matter, he reached in and pulled out a pillow, sleeping bag, and yoga mat. For the longest time, his mother did yoga, but, grew tired of it after he turned four.

Closing the door, he could smelled something coming from the kitchen. Baked ham covered in pineapple, fresh mashed potatoes, buttery corn on the cob. It was enough to make his mouth water. Another thing that came from the kitchen was humming. The humming of a song he knew all too well.

"Gobber?" The brunet called as he walked toward the kitchen. "Is that you?"

The humming stopped. "Ah, Hiccup! Welcome home! I was just making dinner. Your father won't be home till around midnight so, he asked me to come take care of ya until then."

Of course. Stoick _never_ let him stay home alone. It was one of the many things he couldn't do. Number thirteen on that list, actually. Number three on the list of things that irritated him. He rolled his eyes and hoisted the sleeping bag over his shoulder, opening it slightly by doing so.

"You know, I can take care of myself." He mumbled, leaning against the doorway. "I mean, it's not like I'm going to burn down the house or something."

Truthfully, he didn't mind Gobber's company at all. He rather enjoyed it. But, he just wished his father would trust him enough to leave him home alone even if it was just for a few hours.

The man looked down at his friend's son frowning slightly. "He's only doing this to protect you. It's not you he doesn't trust, it's everything around you."

Hiccup raised an eyebrow and shook his head, turning to leave out the back door. "Thank you for summing that up."

The smell traveled all the way out into the back yard and caused Toothless to start whining. Ham was one of his favorite table scraps, causing him to do anything to get it. As soon as the back door opened, the black lab ran right into the house. Gobber's voice could barely be heard over his senseless barking.

Carrying everything up the ladder was about as hard as it looked. The yoga mat sat awkwardly under his chin while the now unrolled sleeping bag began slipping off his shoulder. The pillow hung loosely from his teeth, going on it's last thread as he made it inside the tree house. He mumbled an apology and laid everything out.

"Here." The fifteen year old sighed. "Dinner will be ready soon. I'll come back with food when it is."

Jack shook his head, sitting on his makeshift bed. "You didn't have to do all this." He said, leaning back against the wall.

"I know."

The two sat silently next to each other, just enjoying each other's company. Every few minutes, the smaller teen would look at his watch and sigh while the other stared out the window seeming content. Time went by slowly, the hands in his watch not even moving as fast as a snail. It made him chew on his bottom lip and tap his finger impatiently.

His friend, however, was completely okay with the pace of everything. He even smiled a few times as he tried to look up at the stars. To him, it was about as close as the old days as he was going to get. It took every inch of energy and power not to kiss his cheek when he turned to him. Those freckles stared back at him, almost begging him to play connect the dots. There seemed to be more of them now and covered most of his skin. The light coming in from the house shined on his brown hair, showing the natural red highlights he always carried. But, as he looked closer, he could see a small spot there was never there before. A small, bald spot. Without thinking properly, he reached over and grazed his finger across it, gaining a jump from the scar's owner.

The brunet looked at him with wide eyes and a frightened expression. This, in turn, made him jump and return the frightened face. He didn't really know what he had done; had he hurt him?

"I-I'm sorry." He said, turning his gaze down to his friend's small neck. "I just…I just was wondering what that was. I never noticed it before."

Hiccup slowly calmed down and turned away, his fingers absent mindedly playing with the hem of the sweatshirt. "It's fine." He whispered.

There were a few holes at the end of each sleeve, causing him to start picking at them instead. Threads popped out and began littering the floor as silence over took them once more.

Jack rubbed the side and back of his neck; a new habit he developed whenever a situation became awkward or strange. He thought back to when they were kids and wondered if there was anything he had done to get such a scar. And, there was nothing. Granted, there were many times the Haddock teen had fallen over and scratched himself. It was always on the chin and elbows though, never on the head.

The question twirled in his head more times than he'd like to admit, making him completely zone out for a few minutes. He hadn't even noticed that Hiccup was already on the ground, walking into the house.

The pitter patter of nails and dog tags introduced Toothless as he made his way across the hall and into the living room, a large ham bone in his mouth. The teen chuckled at the sight. His babysitter was not that far behind, a plate in his real hand.

Whenever he saw Gobber, he reminded him of a patchwork quilt. His right leg was gone and replaced with an obviously fake replica as well as his left hand. Stoick used to tell stories about how his friend lost his limbs, the stories different each time he told them. A memory popped up in his head of him running around with the policeman's arm and laughing as he was chased. It was a fun game they used to play that now collected about as much dust as twister or monopoly.

"I'll be eating up in the tree house." Hiccup said, walking into the kitchen to make two plates.

The hiss of the television turning on was loud and made him flinch. "Are you sure?" Gobber asked. "I'm sure it's awful up there. Why don't you eat in here?"

"Umm…I'm…feeling nostalgic today." He lied through his teeth.

When the plates were full and his stomach started to rumble with hunger, he walked back outside and stared down the ladder. And he thought bringing stuff up to sleep on was hard enough. Still, he took in a deep breath and accepted the challenge. Holding a plate in one hand and one in between his teeth, he slowly made his way up the wooden boards. The silverware threatened to fall onto the ground below a few times, causing his heart to race. He popped his head up into the opening in the floor and sighed in relief when Jack grabbed his plate. Mumbling a 'thanks', he climbed in and sat next to him, starting with the juicy looking ham.

The white haired teen's fork hardly touched the plate. He pressed into his slab of ham and held it as if it was a lollipop. The sight didn't really disgust Hiccup more than it did worry him. This seventeen year old who carried himself with such grace and intelligence now sat next to him, eating like a barbarian. Juice dripped down his chin and dribbled a small river over his Adam's apple. He watched it slowly flow, his cheeks becoming beat red as he wondered what the other…

No. No, that was wrong. He wasn't supposed to think that way. He turned his head away from the delinquent and slapped his hand over his face. All he wanted to do now was become invisible or run away. Either one would be fine at the moment. Anything to create a barrier between him and the other teen.

Jack glanced at him, raising an eyebrow as he watched the red in his face drain away. It was actually rather amusing and he began to wonder what got him so worked up. He continued to look the brunet over even when he started eating.

The way he ate didn't change. He always was very elegant when he ate; pinky up without thinking, small cut chewable pieces, forkfuls that didn't spill when he brought them up to his mouth. It was almost a sort of dance whenever he did something. Whether it was eating or drawing, walking or cleaning; it was always with some sort of grace. Of course, it wasn't very graceful for long. A shoelace would get trapped under him or something would catch his attention away from his dance and he'd fall to the floor. Even then, it was still with elegance.

Hiccup was the most amazing, clumsiest dancer in the world.

He smiled as his eyes traveled back to his hair and set themselves on his scar that was barely seen under the hair. Slowly, his smile became nothing but a distant memory.

"Hic?" Jack asked, adjusting himself in his spot. "How did you get your scar?"

Just like that, the dance stopped. Hiccup kept his fork to his mouth for a second before lowering it to his plate. Leaning back against the wall, he ignored their shoulders and arms touching.

He shook his head and stared at the mashed potatoes. "I don't remember. But, my dad told me. I only know facts of what happened." He cleared his throat as he thought back to what his father told him.

"It was my seventh birthday and we were out of candy. Usually, on my birthday, I get to stay up and eat as much candy as I want. From what dad told me, Fishlegs ate the rest of it. So, my mom and I went to the store to get some more."

A small, sad smile crept onto his face, a soft scuff blowing past his lips. He began to play with the white and blue bracelet on his wrist as he continued. "I kept putting lemon drops in the basket…"

* * *

_"Hiccup, sweetheart, don't you think you have enough lemon drops?" She asked, smiling down at her growing son. _

_The now seven year old shook his head. "I love lemon drops, mum. They're my favorite." _

_She let out a small laugh and nodded, looking down at the ten bags they had of the sour candies. Four bags of small, fun sized candy bars sat under it all; just in case he wanted some chocolate. Which was a rare occasion, but, it still happened._

_Hardly anyone was in the corner store. Just her, her small child, a shifty looking man, and a single cashier. It was a recipe of strangeness and it made her feel uneasy. Whenever the man started walking toward them, she'd grab her son's small wrist and drag him away to the frozen foods or the dairy products. _

_When they had finally gotten all that they needed, which was not just candy but special things for breakfast the next morning, she placed everything down and smiled at the cashier. _

_"That rains coming down pretty hard, isn't it?" The lady smiled, scanning things at a normal pace. _

_Hiccup shrugged and looked up at her; his head unable to be seen unless he was on his tip toes. "It's always raining." _

_"Is it? I haven't noticed?" _

_"Oh, he's just a little sad. He's friend moved away a while ago and he can't seem to get over it."_

_The seven year old looked around, the sound of footsteps becoming much more interesting than the conversation of two older women. Not too far away stood the man his mother had been keeping him away from. He looked down at his watch impatiently, his hand digging through his bag. _

_A hand was placed on his shoulder as he watched the strange person pull out a colorful mask and...what was that? _

_"Come on, honey. Let's get home." His mother said, taking his small hand just as the man came toward them._

_The door closed behind them, shouts just barely making his ears. Hiccup looked up at his mother, noticing her frightened face and began to wonder if he should be scared as well. He tripped a few times as she started running and tried to hold her hand as best he could. _

_"Mom, what's wrong? What's going on?" He asked, getting the feeling that something or someone was following them. _

_"Just keep running, baby. Don't stop running!" _

_She violently turned down an alleyway, their house in sight. For a moment they both felt relived. They were going to get home safely without getting any bumps or bruises. _

**_Bang!_**

**_Bang!_**

_Hiccup was suddenly faster than his mother. She was nowhere in his vision. His heart sank into cold, icy waters as he looked down at his mother who laid on the ground. Lemon drops were scattered everywhere, some still bouncing to the ground. _

_A small crimson puddle began forming underneath her. He had only seen this in video games and movies. There was no way this was happening in real life. There…there was just no way. This must be fake, a trick. Just like on television. _

_"M-mom…?" He asked, walking over to her._

_She didn't answer…or move…no sound whatsoever. _

_He leaned down next to her, shaking her shoulder. "Mommy, this isn't funny." _

_Tears formed at the corners of his eyes and silently began to pool over. Her body moved with his motions, everything becoming cold under his hand. He shook his head and grabbed her hand, trying his best to pull her up. _

_"Come on, mom. I don't like this game. Get up…"_

_She didn't move._

_"Mommy, get up."_

_She didn't speak._

_"I don't like this game anymore! Please, mommy, please! Get up!" _

_She didn't hold him and dry his tears. She just laid there unmoving. _

_He cried and held her hand tightly, not bothering to notice the man walking up to him. Hiccup screamed out for her and told her just how scared he was. And when she did not answer, he would shake her arm and order her to wake up. _

_The click of the gun being cocked brought him back slightly and he whipped his head up to meet the colorful masked man. He felt numb as the gun was moved toward his head, his eyes wide with horror. This was it. He was going to die._

_"I'm sorry, kid."_

* * *

"Hiccup, oh god, I'm sorry!"

Jack didn't know what to do. The brunet just suddenly started crying out of no where, sobbing really. As soon as he mentioned lemon drops, his mind seemed to travel somewhere else. It went off to some far distant place. When he had placed a hand on the teen, it seemed to trigger something inside him, forcing him to start sobbing.

Hiccup mumbled misunderstood words and whipped his nose off on his sleeve. Somewhere within those jumbled sentences as a muffled apology which, the other understood right away.

The seventeen year old shook his head, pulling his friend close. "Shh, it's okay. There's no need to be sorry." He whispered to him, rubbing circles into his back.

Struggled gasps for air caused him to look down a few times. Red clashed with green when he looked into his eyes. He could feel his own begin to water at the very sight.

"It's alright, Hiccup…I'm here. You're okay, I'm here." Jack kept whispering, rocking him slightly.

The more he rubbed circles into his back, the quicker he calmed down. Quiet cries were all he heard amongst sniffles and gasps for air. The fifteen year old dug his head into his friend's chest and held onto him tightly, not even noticing the position they were in. Somehow, he had ended up laying in between the white haired teen's spread legs, curled up in a small ball.

Sleep slowly came over him and caused his eye lids to drop, his breathing becoming steady once more.

"I want my mom…" He whispered.

Jack nodded, holding one of his tiny hands. Without thinking, he placed a small kiss on the brunet's head and held him even closer; trying to keep him warm from the cold rain that poured outside.

"I know, Hiccup. I know…"

* * *

**A/N: I know the ending seems a bit rushed, but, it's 12:26am and I'm tired. - ADAM  
**

**Reviews = Motivation = Chapters**


	9. Notes

**A/N: I'm so sorry, guys. I can't believe I missed HiJack week...I'll try and make it up to you. Really.**

* * *

The bird sat quietly next to the dirty plate and just stared at the two humans. Only one had moved throughout the whole night, making him believe that the larger human was dead.

Both laid tangled in each others arms on the floor, the only pillow they had under the brunet's head. He had moved around many times during the night; twisting and turning, pushing and snuggling. It was the worst rollercoaster ride anyone could ever be on. At times, he would mumble a few things and curl himself into a ball. Other moments, he would spread his body out on the floor. But, for now, he stayed peacefully on his side, an arm around the blue clad teen.

Jack's hand snaked it's way up to Hiccup's and rested right above it. This was the only movement he ever made when he slept.

During his first week in the gang, there was a fight over territory. Every night he could hear gun shots and hollered orders. It scared him stiff, keeping him mostly awake. Tooth, Aster, or Pitch would come in when it got too out of hand and would sooth him to sleep. There were a few times that week where they were found and whoever was consoling him that night would shoot the unwanted intruder until they were dead. It was the most frightening sight to the then eight year old. Now, it was almost sickening how he was used to it.

Hiccup yawned as soon as the cold skin collided with his. He stretched his arm and moved his body, picking up and resting his head on what he thought was the pillow. All he wanted to do was sleep in. Hopefully, neither his father nor Gobber would notice the time. He smiled as he tried to drift off to sleep once more, the sound of a bird flying off lulling him slightly. As his breathing slowed, he noticed that the pillow moved every few seconds, a small beating sound coming from within. It was calm and enchanting, pulling him in deeper. His eyes blinked open, showing him what exactly he was sleeping on. Jack's chest fell and rose under his cheek. For a moment, he allowed it all to happen; his eyes slowly dropping again, the older teen's arm weaving up to hold him closer.

But, as he world around him started to blur, he heard his father's words. '_It_'_s unnatural_. _It_'_s disgraceful_. _It_'_s disgusting_!'

The brunet jumped away from his friend with a yelp, just missing the exit hole in the floor. "Oh my god, Jack! Seriously! What the heck!?"

The sudden yelp of the smaller boy forced him more awake than any cup of coffee could make him. His eyes were wide and he had indeed jumped a few inches into the air. Upon looking over the fifteen year old and seeing that he was unharmed, he smiled slightly and gave a soft chuckle.

"Heck?" He asked. "Fuck, are you three? The only people who say 'heck' are under the age of twelve. How old are you?"

Hiccup only glared at him. "Old enough! An-and what are you doing; going around holding people in their sleep! I-it's rude to just do that without asking first!"

"Well, I'm sorry." Jack couldn't help but laugh.

His cheeks were just so red and his glare was just so adorable, he didn't know what else to do. It was always the greatest sight to see him flustered. As he stood up, he opened his arms, and started making his way toward to poor boy. "Can we cuddle?" He asked with a slight pout.

"No we can't 'cuddle'! It's disgusting!" The brunet shouted and started retreating down the ladder. "Men aren't supposed to show that kind of affection to other men!"

Toothless began barking and scratching at the glass sliding back door at the sight of his master. It wasn't at all late even if it appeared that way. His master would have enough time to toast some frozen waffles, get properly dressed, brush his teeth and hair, and still have enough time to bring him outside. Out of the corner of his eye, a white haired teen jumped down and out of the house that sat in the tree. His cheerful barking quickly became an angry growl as he watched the two converse almost heatedly.

As soon as the door opened, he jumped in front of his master, barking away at the strange human; his teeth showing and eyes wide.

"Toothless!" Hiccup yelled. "What are you doing!? Stop!"

The seventeen year old threw up his hands and slowly began backing away, wondering why the black lab wasn't biting his master's hands when he grabbed his collar. "Whoa, hey! Step off! I ain't gonna hurt him!"

Toothless' barking stopped, but his growls didn't waver. His owner and best friend kneeled beside him, scratching under his chin. "Toothless, he's a friend. It's alright, bud. He _isn_'_t_ going to hurt me."

It took a moment for the growling to stop and once it did, the snorting began. He snorted and shook his head at the guest, walking off to do his business. This was an outrage! He couldn't believe what he had just heard! Sure, the teen looked fine on the outside. But there seemed to be something about him he didn't like. He wasn't sure if it was look he sent his master or the smell of gun powder mixed with cool mint that flew off him. Maybe it was both.

The brunet shook his head. "I don't know why he got so…like that. He isn't usually attacking others unless they are attacking me."

Jackson stared at him, watching as his friend open the door all the way and walk in. He stood there not knowing what to do. Not knowing if he should follow or stay behind. For a moment, there was slight silence.

"Jack?" He heard coming from the kitchen. "Come on in. No real need to be shy."

In a way, there was. He knew how his father felt about not only homosexuals but about him as well. There were a few times when they were small where Stoick caught them holding hands and pecking each other's cheeks. The man's eyes would grow wide for a second before narrowing down at the taller child. If his father saw him, would he recognize him? Would he throw him out of the house and forbid that they have any sort of relationship?

Hesitantly, he allowed a pale, bare foot to step on the cool wood floors. A small shiver ran up his spin as he continued to walk in. He had only ever been in the brunet's room, so, this was all new to him. The gold trophies were smooth under his fingers as he lightly dusted them off, old pictures of a happy child caused him to smile with a heavy heart.

Popping his head around the corner, Hiccup raised an eyebrow as he saw the other stare at the walls. "What…are you doing?"

The white haired teen looked at him, pulling his hand away from the photograph he was dusting off. "You guys don't know how to keep a house, do you?"

"We do. I just haven't dusted in a while." He muttered, turning back to the kitchen.

His backpack laid in the corner and four toaster waffles jumped right out of the slots. Jack walked in, staring at the other as he picked them out with paper towels. When he was waved over, he took his seat across from his friend.

For some odd reason, they kept finding themselves in the same awkward silence. Every once in a while the sound of a knife and fork hitting against a plate would be heard. Hiccup had a certain way of eating waffles; a nostalgic way. He'd cut them into neat strips and dunk them in a small cup of syrup. Of course, he never used his hands. Even when he ate French fries, he never used his hands. It was almost like _Swan Lake_ was playing out in front of him.

'_Breakfast and a show_…_very nice_.' He thought to himself.

The way he ate his meal was much, much different. He held one in his hands and quietly nibbled on it, eyes fixated on the brunet in front of him. At a glance, it looked like he had merely zoned out. And, he acted as if he was as well, looking surprised when the teen finally spoke up.

"So, Jack…" He started, a small drop of syrup on his bottom lip. "Are you home schooled?"

Jack shook his head. "No. I'm not schooled at all." Most of which was a lie. He was schooled – in subjects he didn't want to take part in but schooled nonetheless.

"Well, then shadow me today."

"Excuse me?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as he shoved the rest of a waffle into his mouth.

The fifteen year old nodded with a look of complete seriousness. "Come to school with me today and just follow me around. If you like it, then I'll sign you up tomorrow."

Follow him around a school? What would Pitch think about this? Would he even know? Sighing, he agreed.

The walk to the building seemed longer. He figured it was the forced on shoes and crisp, clean clothes weighing him down. Fishlegs kept glancing over at the boy, hardly believing it was really him. Hiccup had thrown so many stuff at him; new shirt, new pants, new shoes, a hat, a bar of soap. He didn't look like the same person after all that.

Teachers and students alike stared at him as he walked through the halls. Girls giggled, boys whispered. Still, not a single person kept their eyes off of Jack. Hiccup sighed and shook his head as they sat down in his first class, Health. A few cheerleaders waved, giving their best smiles to his white haired friend.

Jack wiggled his fingers in their direction and showed off his surprisingly white teeth. Honestly, with how greasy his hair was, Hiccup was taken back by the possible fact that he might own a toothbrush.

"I think they like me." He whispered to the shorter teen.

"I know they like you." The other whispered back. "There's a few more minutes before the bell rings. Why don't you go talk to them?"

He shook his head with a smile and turned to play with the end of his sleeve. It was weird having crisp new clothes. All of his were tattered and stolen from yard sales. "Nah, I'm good for right now."

The cheerleaders slowly stopped their waves, frowning as they turned back to their desks. It was clear that nobody ever turned them down. Well, until now, at least.

Hiccup pulled out his small, green notebook, his eyes of the same darker color paced back and forth across the pages as they followed his hand. Small details fled Jack's mind over the years. Like how his friend stuck his tongue out, biting it when he thought things through. How he bounced his leg when he got excited about his own writings. And, more importantly, how he wrote with his left hand. Hardly ever had he seen someone write with their left hand and he was amazed by the drawings he could make with it. The scales on each dragon, the freckles on every human being in his book; the details he could make were simply astonishing! And here he thought that left handed people had it rough.

He smiled as he leaned back in his chair, peeping over the brunet's shoulder. Whenever he wrote something in pen, misspelled words were scratched out and the ink would smudge all over the page from his constant moving. But, as he watched the left hand twirl with ease, he saw that not a single word was scratched out. Everything was written perfectly. Some words were even written in a language he couldn't understand. How much has he learned within those years they were apart?

Jack raised an eyebrow as he watched Hiccup flip to the back of his book and tare out an untouched page. His hand didn't move gracefully anymore. Instead, it seemed to take on an angry mind of it's own. '**STOP WATCHING YOU CREEP**' was written in big bold letters. The white haired teen chuckled and leaned back in his chair.

"Alright, alright. I get the hint." He muttered with a grin.

Hiccup crumbled the paper in his hand and slipped it into his pocket. Sometimes, he wondered if Jack really did get the hints. The signs he kept dropping. The rolling of the eyes whenever he opened the door and Jack stood there with the stupid grin he always has, the scuff he let out when he walked up to him after school, seeing almost every girl talking to him. He wasn't really getting the hint that he wanted to be alone. That he didn't really need him anymore.

Snotlout kept his distance. Sure, the usual crumpled paper ball or snarled word would be thrown around here and there, but, there was no physical attack. Tuffnut seemed to back off as well, being the main man in throwing paper planes at his head.

Every few minutes during class, Hiccup had to keep showing Jack the note. Of course, the seventeen year old would laugh and wave it off, shooting him his usual smile. The brunet would stare at him, glare at him, and turn away back to his notebook. Honestly, these…these _tickles_ inside of his stomach were getting really annoying really fast.

Lunch was no better. Fishlegs never looked more awkward. Girls beyond girls sat at their table, all focusing their attention on the boy with the unnatural blue eyes. Hiccup and him were pressed up against the wall so much, it was hard for them to reach their food. Jack only smiled and chuckled, leaning against his younger friend at times.

By the end of the day, it was really starting to get out of hand. He turned to his fans and lifted his hands in defense. "Alright, girls, alright. I have to go home now."

Some of them begged him to come home with them. Others crossed their arms in fury. '_This is ridiculous_…' Hiccup thought to himself and pulled the taller teen's arm, dragging him away from the school's parking lot.

"You've only stayed over once and you're already calling it home?" Fishlegs asked. "I've stayed over plenty of times and I still call it Hiccup's house or the Chief's house."

Jack shrugged with a slight smile. "It's a much better home than where I live."

"And where _do_ you live?" Both boys asked as they stopped in their tracks.

But, he didn't give an answer. He simply sighed, shot them a sad smile and looked off down the street a ways.

When they came to the corner, Fishlegs said his goodbyes and walked off down the opposite road. The rest of the walk home was silent save for the sound of a few birds chirping and a car driving by here and there. Hiccup walked Jack down the driveway and checked the backyard for any signs of his father, Gobber, or anyone else.

"I'll bring you dinner tonight." He said and opened the gate. "Just stay up there and be quiet, alright?"

Jack nodded. "Fine, fine. Hey…" He turned to him, raising an eyebrow. "Why do I have to stay in the treehouse?"

Hiccup didn't give him an answer. Instead, he mumbled a 'see you later' and walked on inside. Toothless looked up from his place in the hallway and stared at his master before yawning. It was clear by the look of his belly, his father had a guest over. Whenever he did, both Stoick and his guest would feed him table scraps or treats until he quiet literally passed out.

The sounds of his father and another man talking fluttered in from the kitchen. This other voice didn't belong to Gobber and only sparked up his curiosity. He walked in almost hesitantly.

"Ah, Hiccup!" Stoick boomed when he looked up and saw his son. "Welcome home, son. You remember Mr. Hofferson, of course?"

Mr. Hofferson was a tall man and not as large as Stoick, but still much larger than Hiccup. The blonde man looked over with a smile and a slight wave. "Hello."

The fifteen year old sent the same gesture back, raising an eyebrow at his father. He remembered the name. The man, not so much.

Stoick cleared his throat and nodded. "Well, we were planning a little get together. Like the old days. It's been a long time since you've seen Astrid and maybe it's time you two caught up."

* * *

**A/N: Whenever I read anything that has to do with How to train your Dragon, I read it in David Tennant's voice. I've been listening to too many HTTYD audio books. - ADAM  
**

**Reviews = Motivation = Chapters**


	10. Drinks

**A/N: Sorry the chapter is so short. I had to pack up some things. I'm going down to the family's camp for a few weeks. But, while I'm down there, I'll be bringing a notebook and I'll be handwriting new chapters to post when I get back. Since, you know, no internet by the lake.**

* * *

For the first time in a little over three days, the ache in her mouth wasn't that bad. She had tried everything; cold drinks, warm drinks, even ignoring the pain didn't work. Who would have known an aquarium would have soothed her into such a deep, relaxed state?

She kneeled on the chair, staring mindlessly at the small clown fish that swam about. Her brother kneeled next to her and watched a few others go about their daily lives as well. Every few minutes, the blonde haired child would turn to watch her little friend and bump her glittery, pink fairy wings into the slightly older boy. He would, in turn, groan and push them away with one finger as to not get glitter all over himself.

Their mother sat patiently a few seats down, flipping through an old celebrity magazine. One of her legs laid on top of the other, her foot bouncing slightly as she waited for her daughters name to be called. Surprisingly, they were the only one's in the waiting room. It seemed every time they went to the dentist, the place was usually packed with crying babies and whining children. Yet, there was no one else there. Maybe it was because of the fact that it was so late.

The receptionist yawned as she walked in, holding a clipboard loosely in her hands. "Sophie Bennett?" She asked.

"Right here." The other answered, smiling as he children jumped off the chairs. She held her hand out to her youngest. "Come on, Soph. Time to get your teeth checked."

The two year old giggled and took her mother's hand happily, almost skipping into the dentist's office. Her brother shoved his hands into his pockets and followed them. All around stood pictures of fishes, flowers, and fairies. Some were drawn by other children who had visited. Others were professional paintings done just for this office to help calm little kids.

"Toothy!" Sophie shrieked happily when she saw her dentist swirl in her chair.

Tooth smiled down at the girl, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Hello to you too, little one. I hear something's wrong with your teeth. How about we sit on up here and see what's going on."

Sophie did not hesitate. Unlike most children, she loved the dentist. The feeling of having nothing else in your mouth, the minty-bubble gum taste that stuck there for a while, the sticker she got afterwards to add to her collection. It was hard to make her stay still as Tooth turned on the light and stuck her gloved fingers in.

Nothing seemed to be wrong. Her teeth were perfect. No black spots, not plaque. But something about that red spot in her gums made her worry. Her finger scrapped over it slightly, causing the child to whimper in pain.

"Sophie, sweetie." She said. "Did you hit your mouth on something or bump something against it?"

The blonde nodded. "My toothbrush."

"Ahh. I see. Well, it's nothing to worry about." Tooth snapped her gloves off and threw them away, looking up at her favorite patient's mother. "Her gums are a little bruised from getting hit with her toothbrush. Keep her away from acidy foods and no sweets."

Miss. Bennett nodded. "Of course. Thank you, Miss. Anna."

"Thank you!" Sophie beamed.

Tooth waved and smiled as they left, giggling at certain questions the youngest had for her mother. When they had completely left, she turned in her chair and stared at the computer screen. She blinked at the number of appointments she had that day, which, weren't many at all. Clicking on the next day, she sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. Booked from the time she got in till the time she got out.

There weren't that many of those types of days. In fact, she could count on one hand how many times she had a full day in a month. But she still smiled and closed out of her appointment book. She loved her job more than anything else. Even more than she loved the 'family' she was a part of some would say. The computer sung as she held the power button down, the room becoming darker than it usually was. Her ears rang as everything became silent for the most part. The florescent light above her hummed and the sound of a few keys being punched from the computer next door seemed to calm her down. Just something about utter silence didn't seem right to her.

**_Briiiinnnnggg_**

**_Brrriiinnnngggg_**

Her cell phone vibrated next to the computer, making her jump in surprise. She looked down at the picture. An egg. With a sigh, she allowed it to ring a few more times before flipping it open and answering it.

"Hello?" She groaned.

There was a pause on the other line. A faraway group laughed in the background, the sound of glasses being placed down underneath it all. "Tooth…I…I need ya…"

"Why do you need me, Aster? Can't find your car again?" Tooth twirled in her chair, grabbing her purse as she did so.

"No, no, I see it…" He slurred. "Jus' can't drive it. North won' let me." A voice boomed on the other side, saying something she couldn't understand. "Ah, rack off! I'm fin'!"

Ever since they could drink, Aster and Tooth always went to the Blue Goose Tavern. It was the place to be. Everyone who was anyone went to the Blue Goose whether it was just to hang out or if it was to drown your sorrows in the best drinks in the state. If the train went by while you were eating or drinking, Old Mike would throw the bill in the shredder while everyone chanted. As soon as the blades began cutting the paper, the whole tavern would cheer, screaming the word 'train' over and over again.

When Old Mike died, the place didn't seem to be the same. He left it to his son who eliminated the free train drinks and snacks. One by one, usual costumers left and day by day, the place started to fall into ruins. There was no friendly smile when you walked in. There was no 'hey, how's it going' when you sat down to order. After a while, Old Mike's son just abandoned the place. That is, until he found a buyer.

Nicholas was a large man with a thick accent and an even thicker beard. With a hearty laugh, he signed the papers and fixed up the Blue Goose good as new. Of course, when people started coming back, it was hard for others to understand him. Nicholas only knew a few words in English but the accent hardly let on what he was trying to say. When Tooth finally started coming back, she gave him lessons, taught him how to read, write, and speak English enough for people to understand him. Over the years, he had earned the nickname 'North'. Well, not really so much earned as it was given to him while Aster had drank one too many drinks.

Tooth sighed as she waved to her receptionist before walking out the door. "I'll be there soon. Give North your keys."

"Bu' Tooth-"

"Aster." She said firmly. Tooth was not one you'd want to argue with.

"Give North your keys."

"Bu-"

"_Now_."

The Australian heaved a long sigh before the sound of keys jingling and slamming on a counter came into play. North laughed as he took them, saying something along the lines of taking care of his 'baby'. Tooth smiled in victory, beaming actually. "Alright, I'll be there in a minute!" With that, she hung up and pulled out of the driveway.

Truthfully, it wasn't that far of a drive. The Blue Goose Tavern was maybe a mile or two away and thankfully there was no other car to be seen. Which made her start thinking of horror movie scenarios of little girls in the middle of the street or zombies out to eat her soon to be rotting flesh. Her heart started pounding and her foot took notice, pressing down harder on the gas peddle. No. No, there was no way she was ending up in a God awful place like Silent Hill. Screw that; screw the speed limit, screw the police. She wasn't going to let anything like that happen.

Pulling up to the building brought back so many memories. Most blurry, some clear as day. But mostly blurry. She'd never admit it to anyone else that she enjoyed five too many drinks. The only people to ever know this would be Aster and North. And hopefully, it stays that way.

She was greeted with a warm smile and outstretched arms. "Ah, Toothie! So glad you made it!" North beamed.

Aster did not look as pleased. He glanced over his shoulder and quickly turned back to the bar, downing another glass of spiked egg nog; his favorite drink. Tooth let out a soft sigh before sitting next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Alright, what happened?" She asked, watching North making her usual rainbow cocktail.

He shook his head as he stared down at his glass. Truthfully, he didn't want to think about it let alone talk about it. "Can we jus' go home?"

"After this one drink."

A group of completely drunk idiots decided to try their best at the new popular dance and tried even harder to sing along with the Korean song in the corner. The tipsy gathering of girls not too far away laughed and pointed, declaring that they were doing it wrong and that their grandmothers could do better. Tooth smiled as the sound of a train whistle interrupted the constant retorting of the groups. As the building shook, everyone began to cheer, some even chanting 'train' as black smoke and metal passed by the windows. North placed her drink down happily.

"One _free_ rainbow." He said, sending her a wink.

She giggled back and waved him away, taking the fancy glass in her other hand. "Thank you, North. It's been a while."

Aster shook his head as North walked off, looking out the window at the train that passed. He remembered riding a train as a child with his father. Once a week during the summer, the two of them would ride down to the beach. They would always go to the bar car first and grab themselves each a banana split with chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and crunched nuts. What he would do to go back to those days.

"Alright, Aster." Tooth said as she swirled her straw around. "Tell me what's on your mind."

"You're a dentist. No' a therapist." He looked at her, his eyes feeling heavy as he did.

She stared at him rather firmly and almost had the nerve to slap him upside the head. "Yes, I am a dentist. But I'm also your friend."

He sighed and shook his head again, looking back at his drink. Ever since Jack agreed to get close to that boy, she had been jumping down his throat. "Nothin' is wrong. Jus' tired an' wanna go home."

"Are you afraid Jack is going to get hurt? You can trust m-"

"I jus' wanna go home, Anna!"

Hardly anyone used her real name. She could count on one hand the number of times Aster had called her by that. It was normal for patients to call her by her birth name, even neighbors. But never did it come from North, Jack, or the family…hardly ever did it come from Aster.

He rested his head in his hand, clearly upset. His shoulders shook, his Adam's apple bobbed, his lips even quivered. "Jus'…jus' bring me home…"

"Alright…" She whispered with a nod. "I'll take you home."

* * *

**A/N: Alright, tomorrow, I'm off on an adventure! Be good, don't bash, blah blah blah. - ADAM**

**Reviews = Motivation = Chapters**


	11. Shoes

**A/N: Hey everyone, I'm baaaaaaaaaaaacccccccckkkkkk. The lake was pretty cool. I got to see Hummingbirds for the first time. And, I don't think you understand. I LOVE those little things. Just...I love hummingbirds. Anywho, I'd like to thank AlexJohnD for helping me. Because I hiccuped all over the place. Yes. Hiccuped. My little brother started saying it and now I can't stop saying it either. Hiccuped: messed up. But, yeah. Uh. Enjoy?**

* * *

As soon as the light switched on, a world of color exploded in her face. Paintings – finished and unfinished – laid against chairs, walls, even the ceiling. It was a rather big house, much like her own, but still small against actors' mansions.

A colorfully assortment of bottles hung from the dinning room ceiling like a chandelier made of large, glass crayola crayons. When the door closed behind her, they clanked together with an awkward sound that she just loved. During the day, whenever the light shined through the watercolor painted living room windows, a rainbow would be projected in every place the light could reach. Tooth had tried explaining just how amazing and artistic Aster's house truly was, but, nobody believed that someone with such a gray walled job could be just as she's described.

The Australian sighed as he kicked his shoes off and plopped onto the white couch. "Home sweet home." He slurred, his eyes closing into the comfort.

Tooth nodded and sat on one of the black living chairs across from the couch. "Yeah." She whispered, looking around. "You haven't done anything new."

"Haven' needed too." He exhaled. "Looks good as it is."

She nodded once more. This wasn't a lie, the place was beautiful as it was already. But, there were a few blank spots on the walls that made her fingers twitch. Her bottom lip curled up into her mouth as she looked back over at her friend, not knowing what else to say. No. She knew what to say. Or rather, what to ask. It was the matter of asking it that she didn't know how to do. Should she just come right out and ask it or beat around the bush and make small talk, coaxing him into relaxation?

Finally, she took a silent, deep breath and smiled. "So, how was work today?" She asked cheerfully.

Aster turned and looked at her, making a face of 'isn't it obvious' as he did. "Wha' do ya think, Tooth?" he turned away and placed his hand on his face, trying to massage the muscles behind his skin. "It was horrible. Had an attack, everyone decided to ge' hur' today…"

He closed his eyes as he tried to still his now overly beating heart. It hadn't surprised him in the least as he felt his body flow into a panic attack. The day was full of them ever since he saw that boy in the emergency room. The chart the nurse gave him gave most of the information; his next patient was male, he had broken his leg and arm from falling off a roof, he couldn't feel much in either limb. It seemed like a normal day, even if everyone _was_ busier than normal. But then, when he pulled back the curtain, he saw those eyes. Those _eyes_. They were _green eyes_. Green eyes that belonged to a _child_. They shined like any other child's eyes, only, they were pleading with him. They were baring into his own set of grass fields. Aster had worked with many people before, treating everyone he could. And he had seen children come out of the hospital many times, both with smiles and in caskets. Never, though, had he ever treated a…a child. His hands began to shake at the memory of stuttering into the phone, calling for someone else to cover for him. He could never forget those eyes. They were just like…just like…

"Aster. Are you alright?" Tooth asked, sympathy sown into her voice.

Slowly, he returned from the recent memories. He cleared his throat as he sat up. "Y-yeah…" He sniffled, rubbing a finger under his nose. "I'm fine. Jus' tired."

She forced a smile and nodded. "Yeah. I am, too."

When Aster staggered to his feet, Tooth quickly jumped up and wrapped an arm around his waist, helping him up the stairs. The way he slightly giggled at the touch made her smile and remember those weeks before college when they had first met. It wasn't that long before the first day of the semester, two weeks was it? Possibly three. The small city seemed odd to her at first; being as she was used to forty story company buildings around each corner. Her roommate at the time invited her to a party held at the Blue Goose Tavern, insisting that it'd be a great place to make friends. And indeed it was.

The second floor wasn't as colorful as the first. Black and white photographs hung on the walls, no older then ten years old. Most were of Jack, Tooth, and a few other 'family' members. Others were of Aster with them, smiling. She smiled back at the photos, pushing the master bedroom door open with her foot. Aster mumbled and slurred incoherent words as he fumbled across the floor and onto his bed. He curled up, hugging one of his pillows with slight childness.

"'m alright, Toothy." He muffled into the pillow. "Jus' need sleep…"

Tooth sighed and smiled, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow during the meeting. And Aster…" She bit her lip and stayed silent for a moment. Finally, she shook her head. "…just know you can talk to me anytime. Alright?"

"…alright."

* * *

"Dad, before the party can we uh, you know…take down all the sports memorabilia?"

It wasn't that Hiccup _hated_ all the unwashed jock straps and news clippings, but, it was rather embarrassing to have people over with all that gracing his home's walls. It had taken him a few _years_ to get used to having Gobber over with all that and he was supposed to get used to it in just a few _hours_? No. No way. He wasn't doing it.

Stoick cleared his throat as he looked over the list of things they would need for the small party. "Why would I take it all down? Those are all my achievements."

Hiccup looked out into the hallway from his seat in the kitchen and began to wonder just where his father's high school diploma was. After all, wouldn't that be considered an achievement? His eyes slowly moved from the hallway walls, out the window, and toward the old tree house. The light was off but somehow, he doubted Jack was actually asleep.

"It's just a bit embarrassing is all…" Hiccup whispered as he trailed off into his own thoughts.

He often wondered what life was like for other people. Was the cashier really having a good day? Maybe that child alone on the swings is waiting for their friend. Sometimes, others would give him a small indication about what their life is like, what they are really thinking, how they were really doing. He even could tell when his father was lying or sad which is harder then it sounds. But Jack…he couldn't read anything off of Jack.

He had muscles, which suggested he worked out. Yet, whenever Hiccup saw him, he was being a bum. He flashed girls an overly annoying charming smile but never asked any of them out. His facial expression stayed pretty much the same and nothing he wore gave him a sense of Jack's home life. Well, his lack of shoes did make him wonder even harder. Ugh. This was confusing. If his father wasn't in the room, Hiccup would be ripping his hair out.

Hiccup wrinkled his nose in thought, gaining Stoick's attention. "Son? Is something wrong?"

"No, I'm just thinking." He scratched his hairline and turned to the large man.

Stoick smiled slightly and looked back down at the list in his hands. "Excited about seeing Astrid again, are you?"

Hiccup blushed at his father's comment. "A-a little. I haven't seen her in so long, I forgot what she looks like and things."

"Well, I'm sure not much has changed." This is what Stoick was hoping for, at least.

Many times he had talked to the fathers and mothers of his son's classmates; setting up dates and other such things. He thought that since Hiccup never took a step forward in trying for a relationship, he might as well give him a shove in the right direction. Within his middle school year, Hiccup had been on nine dates. Four dates in Freshmen and Sophomore years. By now, Stoick figured, he should have a steady girlfriend.

In a strange and awkward way, Astrid was his last hope in his son ever having a girlfriend.

Hiccup yawned and stood up. "I'm gonna head off to bed."

"Alright. Goodnight, Hiccup."

"Night!" The brunet called from the hallway.

When he walked into his room and closed the door, he looked back at it and stared at the picture taped to the dark wood right above the knob. It was of his mother and him at the park. Both smiling, both happy, both alive. A slight smile played on his lips. Bringing his fingers up to them, he kissed them lightly before lightly placing them on his mother's head. This was his nightly ritual.

"Night, mom." He whispered.

In truth, Hiccup wasn't tired. Even after he had stripped down and put on his pajamas he still wasn't sleepy. The warmth and comfort the bed gave off didn't seem to ease him into even daring to close his eyes.

For hours he laid there staring at the ceiling. He listened with closed eyes as his father walked down the same hallway and entered his own bedroom. Hearing this, a small memory came to him. It wasn't much and was even slightly choppy in some areas, but it was a part of his life and he flowed into it without hesitation.

He remembered boots much too big for his small feet and a coat that encased him like a turtle's shell. A stuffed dragon which he still held onto during lonely nights. A sparkling smile full of kindness and acceptance that moved with a voice he couldn't quiet place. The words that came out were jumbled but made him smile all the same. Then, he heard four taps in the back of his mind. And then it sprung back to life again.

_Tap_

_Tap_

_Tap_

_Tap_

The sound rang in his ears and forced him to open his eyes. His mouth felt dry as he smacked his lips together, his hand whipping away the drool line that froze to his cheek. When he heard the tapping once more, he looked up at his window to see Jack smiling his charming smile. His white hair spiked up everywhere and, even from where he sat on his bed, he could see the other's brown roots showing.

"Hey Hic!" The seventeen year old whispered when he finally opened the window. "Mind if I come in?"

Hiccup pressed his lips together tightly as he watched Jack step through without even getting a yes or no. "I don't think my opinion matters on weather you can come in or not."

"I just woke up and I can't fall back to sleep." He said, sitting at the foot of the brunet's bed.

They stared at each other in silence for at least ten minutes; Jack shooting him a smile and a chuckle, Hiccup rolling his eyes every time he did. It wasn't until Toothless came walking in that he finally said something.

"Well?" He shrugged, petting the black lab when he jumped onto the bed. "What do you want me to do about it?"

"Entertain me."

"What?" For some reason, a chill crawled up his spine and caused him to bring his blankets up over his chest and shoulders.

Jack laughed. "You heard me, you turtle. Entertain me."

Hiccup didn't know much about entertaining himself let alone other people. Movies and video games were completely out of the question seeing as his father would wake up almost instantly at the loud noise. Then, it hit him. It was a small game he played in middle school on the first day.

"Twenty questions." He said. "You ask me twenty questions about myself and I'll ask you twenty questions about yourself."

And the game was on. The first ten to fifteen were easy questions. Favorite colors, favorite animals, favorite foods. Hiccup couldn't help but chuckle and groan when Jack talked about his favorite food: cheese pizza with chocolate pudding. Something about it seemed familiar and it tugged at him slightly as the game continued. As the questions went on, the two soon found themselves laying on the bed, Toothless snuggled in between them as they stared at the ceiling.

The oldest of the two chewed the inside of his cheek as he thought of his final question, his teeth baring into a childlike grin when it came to mind.

"Alright, alright, alright, I got one." Jack chuckled. "What was your first kiss like?"

The fifteen year old blinked as he stared at the ceiling. "I've never kissed anyone before."

Jack's eyes seemed to go wide at the comment and he turned his head to look at the younger teen. Something inside him dropped almost like a metal pan hitting a kitchen floor. It was true. He could see it in his face. Hiccup couldn't remember a thing. The white haired boy bit his lip and turned back to the ceiling.

"I see." Swallowing, he smiled again and chuckled. "Maybe it's because you're such a nerd."

"Shut up."

"Your turn."

"Alright."

Hiccup cleared his throat and thought hard. This was the last question in the game. It had to be good. Finally, he smiled. "Why don't you wear shoes?"

The question seemed to take him by surprise. Jack turned his head to him. "I do wear shoes."

The brunet turned his head toward him as well. "Only when I force them on your feet for school."

Jack sighed as he thought it over. The question itself seemed harmless but the answer was deeper than he thought anyone would expect. He looked down at his bare feet, taking note of the grass that dried and stuck to his soles.

"I don't know." He muttered. "Maybe because…I don't want to walk another mile in them."

"Walk another mile?" Hiccup whispered.

"Yeah." Jack wiggled his toes and thought back to his early years. Before the Family. During the time that was now a dark hole in the other's memory. "Nobody could walk a mile in my shoes…"

* * *

**A/N: I asked the same question to myself. Why doesn't Jack wear shoes? Then I thought about it. 300 years ALONE. Everybody IGNORING him. All those miles he has walked in that life. And then after becoming a Guardian, he threw those shoes away so he wouldn't have to walk another mile in them. Yeah, sure, he didn't have them as a human but that's understandable. Poor family, more than likely sold them for food. But, after all that, becoming Jack Frost and seeing people in shoes, I just thought he'd at least steal a pair. Eh, that was what I thought. I could be completely wrong and over analyzing it. Anyway, yeah. - ADAM**

**Reviews = Motivation = Chapters**


	12. Languages

**A/N: So, I've been thinking a lot during this and...I need to stop thinking. Seriously, I have ****_way_**** too many ideas. Like AU ideas. Here's a small list for JUST HIJACK: Portal!AU, Bioshock(1,2,and infinite)!AU, HungerGames!AU, Fatal Frame(project zero)!AU, Zombie!AU. That's hardly the tip of the ice burg. But, should I do any of these? If so, which one? Anyway enjoy.**

* * *

"You want to _what_?"

Jack twisted his pinky around, digging out the remains of chlorine filled water from his ear. There was _no way_ he could have heard that correctly. The water in his ears must have swished the words and jumbled them. He looked over at Fishlegs who was doing the same, stuffing his sausage like finger into his ear and twisting it around. It was clear he thought the same; water infested ears.

Hiccup rolled his eyes at the two, snapping off his swimming cap. "You heard me. I want to join the football team."

"Uh, Hiccup," Fishlegs' feet shifted and he began to cower. The echoed voices of Tuffnut and Snotlout began filling the tiled locker room. "I don't think that's such a good idea." He whispered.

The three of them silently turned away from one another, rummaging through their lockers. As Snotlout walked into one of the small shower stalls, Fishlegs glanced over at his childhood friend with a look of complete worry. He knew what it was like trying out for a sports team. The coaches are rougher than they are during class or practice and every team member laughs while you try your hardest. Trying out for the baseball team was hard. And neither Snotlout nor Tuffnut were part of the team. Fishlegs could only imagine the hazing Hiccup would have to go through during the process.

The rough, but yet calming sound of the shower head spewing water replaced the awkward silence. Tuffnut horribly failed – even if he'd never admit it – at singing as he jumped into the only other shower stall, throwing his clothes over the door and onto the floor.

Fishlegs took this opportunity to tip toe over to the brunet, his mouth awkwardly inches from his ear as he whispered. "Snotlout would completely _crush_ you if he found out. I don't think you should do it."

Hiccup sent his friend a look, his eyes a mixture of hate, hurt, and annoyance. "Gee, thanks, Fishlegs. I feel the support."

"Trying out for the football team and trying out for the baseball team are two different things!" He tried to explain. "Snotlout and Tuffnut are both on the team. They'll be bullying you all the time!"

"Like they don't already do that?"

"It's serious, Hiccup. What if they beat you after practice? What if you don't even get in?"

"I have to at least try."

"But you have no experience!"

"Yeah, you need training, little turtle."

Both teens turned to Jack who was now fully dry and completely clothed. The seventeen year old blinked a few times, twisted his towel in his hands, and stared back at each of them.

"I suggest after school. Today." He turned his full attention to the youngest of the three and smiled. "On the track. We'll work on your cardio."

The smiles, whispering, and eye contact stopped as soon as the water from the shower heads did. Tuffnut finished his song by kicking the door open and jumping out, showing the whole locker room his bare skin. Snotlout came out with a towel around his waist, throwing another that hung off a bench at his only friend's face.

"Fuck man," He grumbled. "put something on."

Hiccup scrambled through his locker. He wasn't really looking for anything important; his shoes and clothes were already in his hands, his backpack on the floor by his feet. The only reason he kept his head in his locker was to keep that small flame of hope that Snotlout wouldn't notice him and would just keep dressing.

His eyes grew wide when he heard a pair of footsteps making their way toward him. Goggles, a towel, and his swimming cap fell on top of him, causing him to curse under his breath. As he reached down to grab them all, a hand slowly came into his sight. A pale hand. His panic slowly wavered into nothing more than a memory as he watched the mess he had created be cleaned. Jack weaved his arm over Hiccup's shoulders, placing his hand on the fifteen year old's arm when he stood up.

He chuckled softly. "You're such a clutz, dragon boy."

Hiccup couldn't understand why his face felt extremely warm or why Jack's chuckle became a fully fledged laugh. But, it made his heart race and his shoulders stiffen, a feeling he never liked. '_Must be the heat from the showers_._ Yeah_, _the heat from the showers is getting to us_.'

With pressed lips, he looked up at his friend. "Shut up and get your stuff so we can leave." He whispered.

Jack shot him a smile and shook his head as he walked away, drying some of his hair with a towel. Hopefully, the rest of the day wouldn't be as embarrassing as swim class was. A bitter taste lingered on the back of his tongue as he remembered having to stay at the shallow end of the pool. The shouts and whistle blows of the teacher still rang in his ears, making him want to crawl into a dark hole. How embarrassing; not being able to swim. His movements became slow as he thought about everything that could happen; what if he was pushed into the far end of the pool and nobody was there to see? What if he tripped and fell off a bridge into the waters below? What if…what if Hiccup was knocked out and thrown into the pool by Snotlout? What if…

"Jack?" Fishlegs' voice caused him to jump and slam his head against the locker door.

"Fluck!" The teen screamed as he grabbed his head, throwing his backpack over his shoulder. "What is it?" His words came out as he hissed in pain, pulling his hand away a few times to see if he was bleeding.

Hiccup snickered at his attempt to swear. Fishlegs tried his hardest to suppress a laugh as well. "The bell rang a minute ago. We've been calling your name. Did you zone out or something?"

"Y-yeah."

The day continued with much more embarrassing events. Whenever a teacher searched the classroom for students to answer a question, they would always pick on Jack who was trying his best to snake down and hide under his desk. Girls passed him notes, asking him on dates and other such things. Of course, the note would always be snatched up and read aloud to the class while they laughed and pointed. It was not his day _at all_. He looked over at Hiccup during their last period and noticed how sorry he looked. The corners of his lips twitched as he forced a smile on his face. At least the day was almost over.

Finally, the bell rang and everyone jumped up. Jack released the breath he had been holding and walked out the door, smiling when he heard Hiccup stumbling along. The school's track wasn't very far away; behind the indoor pool and down a small hill. Inside the paved oval stood the soccer field where, coincidently, the girl's soccer team was training; running suicides and kicking soccer balls to one another. Fishlegs sat next to him on the bleachers that were laid out on the outside of the track.

He looked down at megaphone in the older teen's pale hands and raised an eyebrow. "Where did you get that?"

"Do you want to know?" Jack raised an eyebrow back, smiling slyly. "Do you really?"

Fishlegs shook his head and looked over the soccer field. "You're going to embarrass him in front of them. You know this, right?"

"I do know this."

"It doesn't sound like you care if he gets embarrassed."

"You're right. I don't care if he does. Besides, how was I supposed to know _they _would be here?"

Hiccup shivered slightly as he plopped his bag on the lower bleacher benches. His gym clothes were thin and short sleeved, making the air around him feel cooler than it actually was. September and he had a love-hate relationship and this was preciously why. It was a fifty-fifty chance that the days would either be blissfully warm or burning cold.

"Hic!" Jack said happily, using the mysterious megaphone. "Five laps!"

The brunet jumped at the loud noise and looked up at it's owner. "Five laps!? But wh-"

"Don't ask questions!"

With a sigh, the boy shook his head and began to steadily jog around the track. The training lasted perhaps an hour. Maybe more. He didn't know, the sun was confusing him. But, within the time span, training consisted of more then just running. No, Jack had him doing all sorts of things. In the middle of laps, he would scream out of the megaphone for him to do ten jumping jacks or seven push ups.

In the middle of the horrendous activity, Fishlegs' mother arrived with snacks she usually provided her son with when he came home. She sat and watched, cheered for the poor dear, gave them each a few more cookies, and left in the span of maybe twenty minutes.

"Hiccup!" Jack screamed through the megaphone.

The sudden noise caused the teen to trip over, his face skidding across the – possibly fake – tar.

"Oh my god, is he okay?" The blonde asked, crumbs falling out of his mouth as he ate his second of four cookies.

"Maybe." The other said normally before putting the megaphone back up to his lips. "You alright?"

His voice was muffled slightly but was loud and clear enough for them to hear. "I _hate_ you!"

"Yeah, he's alright." Jack said, placing the voice enhancer down between his feet.

The sun slowly began to set as time passed. All the girls on the field had left as well as Fishlegs. Hiccup panted as he climbed up the bleachers to where his questionable friend sat, grabbing the bag that was handed out to him. He muttered his thanks and sat down, chugging down the small thing of SunnyD. Jack chuckled as he looked out over the empty space.

"Man…" He whispered. "your face plant looked like it hurt."

"It _did _hurt. A lot." The other whispered back as he rubbed his sore cheek. "Surprised I still have all my teeth."

"Hmm…"

Birds twittered in the trees around the field, filling in the silence between the boys. Jack had seen the sun set many times and had seen every sort of purple, pink, blue, and yellow it gave off. But, never before had he seen such a glorious orange. True, orange wasn't the nicest of colors. Wasn't even his favorite color. It was just something about how it perfectly lit up the colorful leaves on the ground, sparkled off of the metal goal posts, and brought out the natural red highlights in Hiccup's hair that made him suddenly fall in love with it. Each brown freckle on his face popped out, almost making his grass eyes stand out even more.

It was clear that the fifteen year old could feel the other staring because a light pink began showing under all the dots. "So, uh, Jack." He stuttered, looking down at his four cookies and two cupcakes. "Do you have a family?"

Jack looked away and weaved his hand through his hair. "I guess I have a family of sorts." He pulled his hand away and looked closely at the single stand of hair between his fingers. Ugh, his roots were showing. Great.

"What's your mother like?" The brunet nibbled on the smallest of the cookies, turning his attention to his wrist where the blue and white bracelet hung loosely. The years had began to show; threads sticking out, all matted and un-kept.

Mother? When he thought of a mother, he thought of Tooth. The one woman who _truly _took care of him. "She's alright. She gets a little hyper sometimes, though." He smiled slightly at the thought of introducing him to her. He'd be so confused as to why he was so pale while she was so tan. "My…uh, mom is from Thailand."

"Thailand?" Hiccup asked, finally looking up at him. "That's pretty cool. Do you know any Thai?"

Poor Jack bit his lip slightly as he searched through his limited vocabulary. Every once in a while, Tooth would teach him a new word or phrase, but, she hadn't done it in a while. Looking into the other's eyes, his lips quivered and his accent lacked as he spoke.

"ฉันคิดว่าฉันรักคุณ..."

Hiccup blinked as he looked up into those overly blue eyes. Whatever he said sounded sincere and it made the pink return to his cheeks. "W-what does that mean?"

Jack's eyes dropped and he looked away, forcing a smile onto his face. "It means…uh…'are you going to finish that'." He pointed toward the two cupcakes. "I'm getting pretty hungry."

He stared at him a moment more before scuffing, giving him both. Hiccup was never into sweet things anyway and the cookies would send him into a sugar rush as it was. The two sat there while they silently ate, breaking off bits of their snacks to give to foxes and birds passing by. The wonderful orange went as quick as it came and soon left them in near darkness. Feeling something warm against his shoulder, Jack looked down and saw Hiccup; mouth open slightly, chest softly rising and falling.

Smiling, he put the rest of the treats in the paper bag, threw both packs around his arm, and started walking with the brunet on his back. His warm breath heated his neck and ear, making him chuckle at the tickling sensation.

By the time he reached the Haddock's household, it was well dark and most of the lights in the house were on. Jack quietly walked on the other side of the car in the driveway, pushing the gate open with his foot. When he looked in Hiccup's room, he was happy to see nobody in there. He began trying to push the window up with his forehead.

'_Damn_…' Jack thought after a minute of pushing. '_Locked_.'

He sighed and counted his options. There were three ways in; the window, the back door, and the front door. The window was obviously out and walking in through the front door would cause problems. But, if he timed it correctly, the chances of him getting in the back door were better than none. As he turned to the door, something moved in the corner of his eye. The door to Hiccup's bedroom opened, the light shinning from the hallway bounced off Toothless' silky fur.

"Toothless." He whispered against the window. "_Toooothlessss_."

The black lab's tail wagged as he walked over, jumping onto the desk. With his teeth, he skillfully unlocked and tried his hardest to help open the safest way into the house. Jack smiled and laid Hiccup out on his bed, patting the old puppy on his head. "Good boy." He muttered before climbing back out.

Strange really. Every other light, even most outdoor lights, shined a brilliant white. But that was not what he saw when he started walking down the eerily silent street. Instead, the lights shined an ugly yellow, flickering on and off. He stopped a few feet away from the house in thought. If Hiccup's father saw Jack climbing up to the tree house that would cause a fight or a complete arrest. He sighed and began walking again, a chill running up his spine.

"No files yet, Jack?"

His heart dropped. It splashed into his stomach and caused acid to ruin his insides. He could practically feel the cold metal of a bullet entering his chest and head as he turned to only see piercing gold eyes.

"It's been a while now, Jackson." Pitch said clearly, smirking at the fear in the teen's contact eyes. "Have you not gotten close enough?"

Jack's bottom lip curled into his mouth as he thought things over. It had indeed been about two or three weeks. "Not yet. Just a little longer though and I'll have those files on all of us."

A small butterfly flew past the man's face, distracting him as he talked. "Little Frost, do you honestly think he'll love you back?"

"W-wha' are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about that little stunt that you pulled after training today." Pitch lifted his hand, allowing the butterfly to land on a single finger. "Nobody outside the Family will ever love you, Jackson. It would be better for everyone if you just do your job. I don't want you getting hurt."

Jack moved his gaze over to Hiccup's house. It was true to an extent. His real parents didn't love him. They didn't even care and try to go looking for him when he went missing. But something about the way Hiccup smiled and talked, the way he sheltered him and fed him made Jack wonder if maybe he did care. Of course, he kept this to himself and balled his hands up into fists.

"Understood."

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**A/N: And we're moving along. A huge thanks to AlexJohnD for helping again :) Dude, thank you for picking up all my mistakes. - ADAM**

**Reviews = Motivation = Chapters**


	13. Books

**A/N: Whoa, oh gods, thirteen chapters. I hardly go up this high. This is like...big. Don't mind me, I'm starting to get sick and my head is all fuzzy. Without Alex, this chapter would have looked pretty...well, stupid. Seriously, I messed up. I get most, if not all, of my motivation from your reviews that I read at like...midnight. Or three in the morning. It depends when my body is ready to do stuff. Thank you, Alex. Without you, this chapter would have looked half-assed and would have been an insult to the French. And thank you, readers and reviewers. Without you, this fic wouldn't have made it past Chapter 10. On with the show.**

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Hiccup sighed and scratched the side of his head with the eraser of his pencil. He had watched many people do stupid things with their friends. Most of those things involved a trampoline, a roof, and a trip to the hospital. But not his friends. No, his friends wouldn't do something like that. His friends would stay quietly on the ground, trying to learn a new language. In his eyes, there was no need to learn French. The chances of him going to France were slim. So, why did he sit there, writing down simple words in both is native tongue and the foreign curiosity?

Fishlegs had called him late that night, asking him questions on the game he was currently borrowing. Hiccup tiredly gave him the answers, trying his best not to fall asleep while sitting up. The questions continued at an easy pace – for Hiccup's sake – and were pretty standard; where was this place, what is the answer to this riddle. But, his last question was just strange and fully woke up the brunet.

"So," Fishlegs asked over the phone. "what did you and Jack do after I left?"

"Umm…we talked. And ate." He nodded at each one, scratching his arm as he thought over the events. Mainly, he was just trying to remember when and how he got home. "He knows Thai."

The game music in the background stopped or at least was muted. "He knows Thai? There is _no way_ he has _ever_ been to Thailand. His paler than a sheet of paper!"

Hiccup shrugged. "Well, he knows it. His mother is from Thailand so she taught him. I had no idea what he said, but, it sounded cool."

"Everything and anything sounds better in a different language, my friend." Fishlegs shifted in his seat, his game controller hitting the floor. "And you know what we should do? Since you're going to see Astrid again – "

"No."

" – you should try and impress her."

"No. I'm not learning another language just to impress someone."

Sadly, he didn't have a choice. Lunch time had come around faster than poor Hiccup had expected and, before he had a chance to make a run for it, Jack and Fishlegs grabbed him from the hallways, trotting him outside to the bleachers. There were many complaints and much squirming but, they had managed to pin him to his seat.

Jack had chosen the language, claiming that it was the best to use when impressing someone, saying it was the language of love. Plus it seemed incredibly easy for him. By the middle of lunch, he could say almost every greeting, simple words, the names of landmarks, and a few other things that he would never admit to knowing. Fishlegs hadn't been as lucky, only knowing one or two greetings as well as a swear here and there. But when it came to Hiccup, it seemed there was no hope for him.

"Chevaux…?" The brunet asked, looking over at his blue contacted friend.

Looking over at the small notebook, Jack shook his head and pointed to the word with his pencil. "No. Cheveux. Not chevaux. Chevaux means horses."

He groaned and rolled his eyes, looking at the text book that sat on the other side of his lap. There were so many words; he couldn't tell what was what. Commas sat on their side and on top of letters, one too many letters for a word. It was all so much. He shook his head at the confusion and looked back and forth from his text book to his note book.

"Umm…" He mumbled under his breath. "Je m'appelle…la pomme de terre?" Yes, it sounded right. But Jack's laughter proved otherwise.

"Your name is potato?" The comment caused even Fishlegs to join in the laughing.

Hiccup watched the two bust their guts, allowing his cheeks to turn red in embarrassment. The white haired teen placed a hand on his youngest friend's shoulder, smiling as he shook his head. "You had it half right. It's just Je m'appelle…Hiccup. That's it."

His eye twitched as he repeated after him, a small smile climbing onto his lips when the other nodded in approval. While he calmly looked over his notes, he pulled out his sandwich and finally began to eat. Fishlegs had already finished his meal and jumped off the bleachers, going to throw his trash away. His mother had made the three special bag lunches, each bag carrying a sandwich, a cookie, an apple, an orange, and a bottle of soda. Jack pulled out his treat and looked it over. He loved sugary things – chocolate and other such things – but his stomach churned too much for him to even think about eating it.

The seventeen year old grumbled and turned to the brunet. "Here, do you want my cookie?" He asked.

"Yeah, sure." Hiccup nodded.

It wasn't long before the bell rang and Fishlegs came running back as fast as he could to get his stuff. Pulling his backpack over his shoulder, Jack smiled at the youngest of them.

"So," He started, turning so he walked backwards, facing Hiccup. "how was that cookie? She makes the best, huh?"

He nodded and looked up at him, thinking over the many new words he had just learned. For a moment he bit his lip then smiled, speaking almost proudly. "Je t'aime."

The teen froze in place for a moment and just stared. His heart dropped into his stomach, making it churn even more. All the blood in his veins swam up to his cheeks and heated them. He brought his hand up to his face as he stared down at the confused boy and wondered if he knew what he had just said. Finally, his heart began to beat once more, bursting into small butterflies.

"Do you know what you just said?" Jack asked, clearing his throat as his hand dropped to his side.

Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "I said 'I liked it'…right?"

He was completely far off but it made the white haired boy smile. There was no chance that he would ever say it knowingly, in English or not. So, he nodded and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Yeah. Yeah, you did. Oh!"

Kicking off his shoes, he tied them together, throwing them over Hiccup's shoulder as he started walking off. "I have some business to take care of! And make sure you do your training while I'm gone! I'll pick you up when it gets dark!"

Snotlout, who stood by the door leading inside the school, snorted at the comment. Tuffnut and Ruffnut looked over at their leader with raised brows.

"Pick him up?" Ruffnut asked.

"Sounds like their dating. Gross!" Her brother's eye twitched.

The pig faced teen nodded, a disgusting and twisted smile rubbed across his face. "And it seems the protective boyfriend won't be back till dark."

* * *

It seemed as if they should be underground, coming up through the living room floor. It did not seem right to be walking out in the open even if there were hedges blocking the neighbor's view.

The grass stuck to his bare feet as he walked, rain sprinkling down like a cold shower. He shifted slightly inside of his new sweatshirt. It was the same color, same brand, same everything but, it was new. The sleeves were clean, un-torn, and clung to his wrists without hesitation. He groaned slightly and looked around, his hand on the doorknob.

Aster placed his hand over Jack's, nodding slightly as a car passed by. It was a small surprise that the door opened without an alarm going off; especially since the house was so expensive looking.

"They left it open for the cleanin' crew." The older of the two explained, closing the door behind them. "Called the cleanin' crew an' told 'em there was no need to come over."

A crystal chandelier hung in the foyer, lighting the area in small rainbows and white light. The cool, marble floors felt strange against his feet and caused the grass to shed off his skin. "How much time do we have?" Jack asked, picking up a small vase with leather gloved hands.

Aster smirked and held a sterling silver letter opener up to the light. "Two hours before they come back, more or less. Went ta see a movie."

He nodded and began shoving small, valuable items into his backpack. The inside of the house was rather large; two staircases leading up to the second floor, a dining room, a parlor, a living room, two bathrooms _just_ on the first floor. It was bigger than the abandoned ice cream factory he lived in with Pitch and some of the others.

The bedroom was incredible. A queen sized bed sat perfectly in the middle of the room, a dresser on either side of it. One held a jewelry box while the other carried a laptop. Before searching for small, worn rings, Jack laid down on the puffed up mattress and sighed. A skylight gave the perfect view of the rain above him. Aster frowned as he came into the room and sighed, shaking his head.

"Jack, what're you doin'?" He asked, leaning against the doorway.

For a moment, he ignored the Australian, closing his eyes and letting out a sigh. "It's a real bed, Bunny. Not a hammock, not a sleeping bag…" He turned onto his side and pulled a pillow close to his face. It smelled clean, like cucumbers and melons. "A real, genuine bed."

There were times – Aster didn't like to admit – he forgot Jack's situation. He forgot that the teen usually went to bed on a stack of clothes or on a cold, stone floor. When they were first introduced, he saw Jack's 'bedroom'. There were a few drawings on old newspapers scattered across the floor, a pair of shoes that contained holes, stains, and other such things, and a stack of paper, boxes, and clothes in the corner. Aster regretfully asked what it was to which Jack replied happily, "It's my bed!" Every once in a blue moon, he would bite his lip and take the poor boy out for ice cream, dinner, a movie, and back to his own house. The look on the child's face broke his heart. A kid shouldn't have been that happy to see a real bed with a real mattress and a real blanket.

This sight just brought back hated and loved memories of their relationship. His gaze slowly went to the ground as he trotted over to the jewelry box. "I know it's a real bed. Now, get up 'fore your hair gets all over it."

"But it's so big…and comfy…" Jack groaned. There was much tossing and turning before he was satisfied, got up, and straightened the covers.

He looked out the windows as he started walking down the hall. A large pool sat in the ground of their backyard, all covered up for the season. There had only been one time he remembered being in a pool. It was long ago when he was no more than four, before his parents became unnecessarily angry at each other and the only drink he had ever heard of was sprite. The pool was in the shape of Mickey Mouse's head and, if his memory was right, gave him the greatest joy during the summer. No watermelon or amount of ice cream could compare to that red, plastic pool.

He grumbled and continued into another room, looking around for valuables. A jewelry box, a vase, anything really. Then it caught his eye. The crib in front of a wall of curtained windows. The room was a nursery. And not one for an expected child, no, he could smell used diapers in the trash can.

Jack picked up a small snowman doll, taking his mask off slightly so it hung by his ear. He didn't know what it was about the room or about this meaningless toy but he felt almost…sad. Depressed. Scared, even. But, all he could do was put the toy back where it was before and hope that the parents knew what a special gift they carried.

By the end of the first hour, they had already half way filled their bags. Aster shook his head as he closed his in the living room. "Alright. That's enough for today. Anymore an' they'll know."

The teen nodded and flung his backpack over his shoulder. "Alright." The jewels and silver rattled against the canvas of his bag, making him wince when it hit his back.

The two walked back in eerie silence, hoping that the rattling would be concealed by the traffic. Their masks were already off, Jack's in his pocket, Aster's in his bag. It was weird putting them on after not having them for a while and it was weird taking them off after having them on. Jack found himself constantly putting his hand up to his face to block the cold breezes.

Sitting on the ground next to the entrance was a small girl. Anyone who didn't know any better would say she was no more than ten or eleven. But, the members of the 'Family' knew better.

The twenty year old stood up, barely reaching Jack's shoulder. She was covered in black and had a harsh look in her eyes. While Red Death stood as Pitch's muscles and hands, Onyx stood as his ears and eyes. She looked the two over with careful movement.

"Here." Aster grumbled, placing his bag in her hands.

The seventeen year old rolled his eyes, pulling a few books out of his bag before giving it to her as well. "I'm sure he'll be happy with this."

Onyx's gaze was piercing yellow and it was almost haunting. She stared up at his contacted blue eyes, her face more blank than the last few sheets of paper in a book. It made him shift in his spot and ball his hands into fists. She wanted more than what he gave her and he knew just what she wanted.

"I need three more days." He whispered. "Three more days and I'll have everything he wants."

She stared at him for a moment more before going inside, hardly making a sound. That girl was the source of everyone's nightmares.

Both boys sighed and parted ways, Aster going home while Jack walked back up to the school. He tossed the books in the nearest bush and looked down over the track. His heart sped up as he saw that the only person running on the track was a blonde girl, the music from her headphones blasting. Did Hiccup already make his way home? Or was he lying in a ditch somewhere, dying and bleeding from his side?

'_He had my sweatshirt on this morning_.' He thought to himself. '_He_'_s safe as long as he has that on_. _Right_? _Yes_. _He has to be_.'

Jack looked up as he started walking again, the rain pouring harder, soaking him to the bone. He started thinking of all the places Hiccup could be; home, at the park, at Fishlegs'. The honk of a car horn brought him from his thoughts. Speak of the devil.

"Jack!" Fishlegs called from the rolled down window. "What are you doing?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing." He looked in and waved at his friend's mother. "Hello."

She waved back with a forced smile. "Hello, dear. You haven't seen Hiccup around, have you?"

"No, I came up here to get him." His heart beats became audible in his ears and he was afraid the others could hear it as well. "Is he missing?"

The large teen nodded. "His dad called us. I haven't seen him since school ended. Where do you think he could be?"

Jack could feel a lump form in his throat, his shoulders shrugging by themselves. "I don't know…"

* * *

**A/N: I love a good game of hide-and-seek. Also, I took a look at the Rise of the Guardians script and, come to find out, the first Nightmare Pitch makes in the movie is named Onyx. - ADAM**

**Reviews = Motivation = Chapters**


	14. Graves

**A/N: Sorry this chapter is so short. It was going to be longer, but, I split it into two chapters(it was around fifteen pages on my word document). Please don't hate me for the shortness of this chapter.**

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"Hiccup!"

There was not a single thing on Earth that could be louder than Jack's voice at that moment. He ran around the town, frantically screaming the brunet's name. This was bad. Very, very bad.

'_What if someone saw my sweatshirt and beat him for knowing me?_' He thought to himself. It only made the numb feeling in his chest worse.

"Hiccup, answer me!" He screamed, running down a street.

At this point, he was pushing himself down each road, ignoring horns and insults that were thrown at him by drivers. The cold rain made him shake as he ran down his friend's driveway, looking in through each window. Not a single light was on. He knocked on the window of Hiccup's room. No answer. Toothless didn't even bark at the sound.

Jack bit his lip as he thought of where he could be, his foot tapping impatiently. Sadly, all he could think of was how people would beat him, torture him if they had him in their grasps. He shook his head and climbed up the tree house not that far away.

"Hiccup?" The teen whispered.

A raccoon that had made its way up there earlier that day lifted its head and stared at the intruder with slightly glowing eyes. With a hiss, it ran out one of the glassless windows and scurried up the tree. Jack sighed, climbing down the ladder as fast as he could. Slipping and falling half way down, he quickly ran out to the streets again, calling out the fifteen year old's name as loud as he could. His heart thumped in his ears and his blood rushed from his toes to his chest, making his feet numb. He could practically hear Hiccup telling him off, saying that he should have kept his shoes, that he should be wearing them. Lips curling into a slight smile, a car came driving down the corner. His blood turned cold and he stopped as he stared into the head lights like a lost deer. The car stopped just inches from his nose.

"Jackson!" A woman shrieked from inside the car, using his name like a swear. She unrolled the window and poked her head out. "Jackson, what are you doing?!"

Jack sighed in relief. "Tooth, I need you're help!" He ran to the window. "Hiccup's missing and I-"

"Hiccup? Is that the boy whose father has the files on us?"

"Yes, he is. He's missing and I need you to help me find him." He tried hard to hide how desperate he actually was, but, he could tell by the look on Tooth's face it wasn't working as well as he hoped.

She nodded and unlocked the doors. "Alright, hop in."

Jack did as he was told, jumping into the passenger's seat. There have been a few times he had been in a taxi or on a bus – mainly with Aster – but never had he been in Tooth's own car. It smelt like mint with a hint of bubble gum toothpaste; files stacked up in the back seat along with jars of pulled, cleaned teeth. A hummingbird wind chime hung from the rear view mirror, calming him down a few notches.

He leaned back into the seat, letting his hood cover over his head and past his eyes. For a moment, his heart slowed into a stead, healthy beat. Everything was alright. Until he heard it. Just a small voice in the back of his head, taking on the tone of Hiccup. It tugged at him and caused him to flip his hood off in time to see a bolt of lightning a few miles away.

The thunder crashed against him as if he was a drum, making him jump slightly at the familiar noise. What if that bolt just hit Hiccup? He could be lying there; charred and broken.

"Jack, are you alright?" Tooth asked, looking over at him.

He shook his head, looking through every window. "We need to find him. H-he could be dead or he could have been hit by a car or shot or ra-"

A hand on his knee forced him to stop. It was a small, gentle gesture; the kind a mother uses to calm a startled child. He looked over at her with scared eyes, hoping that she had words to back this up.

"We'll find him." She said firmly. "Just calm down and think. Where could he have gone?"

Yes. Yes, he needed to stay calm. Freaking out wasn't going to help anything. It might even make it worse. He bit his lip and thought. Thought way back before high school, before any of this ever happened. Back when they were nothing but two foolish children sharing a simple act of caring for each other.

Back then, whenever Hiccup was sad or angry, he would run. Mostly around the block, but sometimes, he would run all the way to their field and scream into the grass. Other times, he would just sit on the swings at the park and wait for Jack to come get him, his legs kicking in the air. If things had gotten really bad, he would have never turned to the other. He would have turned to…

"The cemetery." He muttered. Looking up at Tooth, he nodded. "He's at the cemetery."

She glanced at him and raised an eyebrow. The cemetery? "Are you sure?"

"Not really." Jack shrugged, watching as she took a left and sped down the empty road. "But, it's the only other place I haven't really looked."

The rain looked like bugs against the headlights and the wind chime began to sooth him a bit more. At the moment, all he could think about was the worst possible situation. All he could see in his mind was Hiccup laying there in the grass, his eyes glazed over from lack of soul. He could feel the strings of his heart being plucked in an unwanted tune and it made him pull at his sweatshirt.

Even though it didn't take long to turn down a few blocks and ride up the dirt road, it felt like hours to him. As soon as the town's cemetery gate came into view, Jack jumped out and ran as fast as he could through the mud, ignoring Tooth's yells from the car.

The cemetery was larger than most for a small town. Some of the tombstones looked blank, their words washed away from centuries of rain and snow. Most of them looked brand new; polished marble, finely chiseled words and symbols. If only they were all lined up and put in alphabetical order. He ran up to the top of the small hill, over looking every stone, flower, and bench that was around. Off in the distance, toward a bushel of trees, was a dark figure. It was small, shaking, and hunched over what Jack could only guess was a grave. The only thing moving his legs forward was pure hope. He ran down the hill, slipping a few times on the mud as another lightning bolt struck the Earth a few miles away. The thunder rattled the ground, almost throwing him off balance.

When he finally came to the poor figure, he dropped to his knees and crawled over. Hiccup's backpack laid leaning against his leg, the tags and buttons shaking against each other as he looked over. He looked like an absolute mess. A split lip, a bruised cheek, an eye that had started turning black and blue. But all Jack could really do was hug the brunet and smile. Hiccup was alive. He might be in pain, he might be hurt, but he was alive.

The fifteen year old blinked for a moment and hugged him back lightly, moving himself slightly so the older teen wasn't crushing his ribs. "Jack…" He whispered, his voice horse and choppy. "what are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you." Jack flicked him upside the head. "You scared the daylights out of me, you know that?"

Hiccup chuckled lightly. "Sorry…didn't mean to…I just…" He coughed, rubbing his throat as he pulled away.

"This is something I would do. You would never do something like this." Jack stood up, picking up the other's bag as he did. "Now come on. I'm gonna take you home."

He shook his head as he stood up with him. "I'm um…I'm not ready to go home yet. M-my dad will be, uh…be pretty mad with me for running out like that."

"Then I'll take you to my friend's house and you can spend the night there. But you'll have to call your dad just so he doesn't arrest us for kidnapping you."

For some reason, this made him laugh. True, it did hurt his side and he did mumble in pain, but, he still smiled slightly on his way to the car. Tooth looked at the teen through the mirror as he climbed into the back seat, drenched to the bone. She smiled, introduced herself politely, handed him her cell phone, and started driving home.

Hiccup bit his lip as he pressed the number in and placed the phone up to his ear. It rang slowly, making his blood turn cold.

_"Hello?"_

"Dad?"

_"Hiccup?! Where have you been?! Where are you?!"_

"I've been…I've been visiting mom."

There was silence on the other end. This was going to be hard to do.

"Um…I had a rough time at school. And I, uh…I'm staying at a friend's house tonight. So…yeah."

_"You should have called me earlier. I could have come get you." _

"I-I-I know, dad. But, I just needed some time alone. You know?"

_"Well, alright." _Hiccup could still hear the anger in his voice as he talked. _"Be home tomorrow. I'll call the school, tell them you're sick." _

"Thanks, dad. Goodnight." He hung up the phone and handed it to Tooth, mumbling a 'thank you' before leaning back in the seat, being careful of the teeth and files.

The ride to her house was longer than expected. Jack thought that they would be there in less than a half an hour. But, no. She had groceries to pick up and medication to drop off. Their last stop of the night was putting gas in the car. Tooth looked at both boys, asking if they wanted anything. Hiccup had shaken his head, closing his eyes as he curled up against the leather. Jack nodded and asked if he could have a bottle of soda. She smiled, closed the door, and walked inside the station.

There was silence for the longest time and the oldest scuffed at it. How they always managed to end up in silence was beyond him and would forever be a mystery. He leaned back and looked up at the neon sign that shined much too brightly, showing that gas prices were going higher. There was no way he was ever getting a car. A bike, yes, a car, maybe not.

With a sigh, he looked through the rear view mirror, watching the brunet as he fell asleep against the clutter. His arms were against his chest, hands balled into fists under his chin. Water dripped off his hair, framing his face before it fell off the edge of his chin and onto the seat. His legs were curled up with him, his pants covered with mud and soaked with rain. Jack's eyes continued down to Hiccup's feet. Mud, grass, and a few bugs covered his shoes, making him look down at his own bare feet. They weren't as bad; dirt under and around the nails, a cut here and there that he really couldn't feel. It made him sigh. Maybe he should listen more to Hiccup and wear shoes more often. Even if they did weigh him down and caused him to trip.

Jack grabbed Hiccup's bag and opened it, rummaging through to look for the pair of shoes he was borrowing. As soon as a shoelace was in sight, he pulled out the foot ware with slight dread. But, when he saw the shoe, the dread was replaced with confusion. These were Hiccup's green converse, his _favorite_ shoes. The ones he wore_ all the time_. He raised an eyebrow at it and turned to look at his friend's feet again.

White sneakers. The very same sneakers that he let the seventeen year old borrow. Jack stared at them and thought for a moment. Hiccup never changed shoes unless he was going to a formal event. He untied the grime covered shoes and pulled them off, tying them onto his own feet.

Tooth arrived a minute later. She handed Jack his soda, pumped gas into the car, and began driving again within the span of five minutes. But to him, it seemed much less. He looked out the window and twisted the cap on and off, trying to figure out just why Hiccup walked around in his shoes.

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**A/N: Wow, fourteen chapters. This is new for me. The highest I've gone is about thirteen or twelve. Thank you guys for supporting me! All of you! - ADAM**

**Reviews = Motivation = Chapters**


	15. Hips

**A/N: Alright, I need to explain. First and foremost, please don't be mad at me. We just recently lost our internet(due to overly high bills and my father not having any of the company's bull) and so, I haven't been able to motivate myself or post any chapters. But, I will be going to my local library to use their internet. Like I am right now. Secondly, OH MY GODS YOU GUYS. ONE HUNDRED REVIEWS. THERE WILL BE A SEQUEL, ANOTHER PHOBIA FIC AFTER THIS. I DON'T THINK YOU UNDERSTAND MY LEVEL OF HAPPINESS RIGHT NOW. Anyway, there are warnings. Of Roman hands and Russian fingers. If you've never seen Rose Red, I suggest you see it now otherwise, you won't understand the meaning. But yes, there is touching. This fic is rated M, you know. Enjoy I hope.**

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_They always fought like this; shouting back and forth. Every once in a while, a plate or a glass would fall to the floor and shatter. Sometimes, he would hear things being thrown around. It all depended on how angry they were and what they were doing. If his mother was doing the dishes and his father came in, sluggish with a bottle in his hand, they would have to get new plates the next day. They always fought like this, so, why did it bother him so much? Why did he hate every word that spat out of their mouths, hate the funny smelling bottles his father drank so much? Maybe it was because…it wasn't _always _like this._

_He can remember days where his father lifted him up into the air and spun him around, his mother biting her lip as she watched, worried that her husband might drop their child. The weekly trips to the beach during the summer and the weekly temper tantrums when he couldn't bring home the new crab friend he had made that day. Races to see who could finish their ice cream first. Races, that, he always won with a grin and chocolate smeared all over his face. _

_Things were different now…and he wasn't sure why._

_Jack hugged his knees to his chest as he leaned against the door, listening to the shouts, the glass breaking. He wasn't paying much attention to what they were saying, just how they were saying it. The only thing he was trying to pay attention to was the stuffed rabbit sitting on his small bed. It was his very first Easter gift ever and, up until a month or two ago, it was his best friend. He smiled at the rabbit, ignoring the noise from the living room. _

_It was small in some ways and large in others. It's ears flopped over it's face, the whiskers all gone from years of playing with it. The nose was made with pink thread, hardly touched by time; not a single fray to be seen. He had tried to take care of it as much as he could. But, being only seven, it was normal for him to throw the toy around the room._

**_CL-ASH! _**

_The child jumped as he felt a dish shatter against his bedroom door. His smile fell and his fingers became slippery. He wanted to go out into the other room, tell them to stop fighting, tell them he hated them for doing this but, he sat still, actually listening to what they were saying._

_"I have just about had it with you!" His father shouted. "I know for a fact that you cheated! Don't tell me otherwise!" _

_"I never cheated!" His mother tried to explain. "You, on the other hand, have been! I've seen you bar jump with girls hanging off your shoulders, rubbing up against you like whores while I stay at home and take care of our son!"_

_"_Your _son! That there is _your_ son! And I think I deserve a little time by myself seeing as how I'm the only one working!" _

_"I would work too if I wasn't a full time mom and if it didn't have to clean up all your shit!" _

_Something, he couldn't tell what, hit the wall not too far from his door. Perhaps it was the coffee table. "If you don't like it, just leave!"_

_"Fine! And I'm taking Jackson with me! Since he is _my _son!" _

_He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Him and his mother were leaving? Were they moving out of town? No. No, they couldn't move out of town. This wasn't fair. They couldn't just stop yelling and along? _

_Jack crawled out of his window, tears wielding up as he did so. He didn't care about the cold sting the snow gave his bare feet, nor did he care about the fact that everyone could hear him sobbing. He just wanted to run. Run, grab Hiccup, and run some more. He didn't care where, just as long as he was with his best friend in the whole world. _

_The brunet's window was always open, he knew this. He had carried him home and laid him in bed enough times that it would be common sense to keep it open. Without knocking, without even peeking in to see if he was actually inside, Jack opened the window, sniffling as he tried to keep his tears back. It clearly didn't work. Even though he couldn't see the other's face, he could hear it by the tone in his voice that he saw the tears. _

_"Jack?" Hiccup stripped off the heavy winter coat and took his freezing cold hand. "What's wrong? What happened?" _

_He couldn't hold it anymore. The pain in his chest was just too painful. Through quiet sobs, Jack whispered. "Can I stay here tonight?"_

* * *

"Jack? Jackson?"

The hand on his knee woke him up softly and carefully. He looked up at Tooth from where he sat, curled up against the window. The rain and thunder had stopped as well as the car. She smiled at him and patted his knee once more.

"Come on," She whispered. "we're here. Can you come help me carry your friend into the house?"

He nodded. "I'll carry him by myself, Tooth. It's alright."

"B-but Jack –"

"Really. It's alright." The teen chuckled lightly. "He hardly weighs anything. And you've got files and teeth in there, anyway. You carry those, I carry him."

Tooth opened her mouth, trying to think of a good argument. But, before she could object to anything, Jack was already holding Hiccup, carrying him into the house with ease. She sighed and gathered the things she needed for that night and the next morning, bringing them inside.

Artifacts from all over Asia decorated the inside of her house. Most were small, of course; bought at some gift shop while she visited her native country. But others were rather large, passed down through her family for generations. They made her sad when she saw them. Sometimes, she would remember happy memories with her parents and little sister. Mostly, though, they were like a reminder that they were gone. That she could never go back to that.

Jack laid Hiccup down on the couch and covered him with the blanket that was folded neatly on the top cushions. He smiled and sat down, pushing a lock of hair out of his friend's face. '_Gave me a heart attack_…' The younger teen seemed to lean into the touch, making the other smile.

"You know, he's going to get a cold like that." Tooth whispered and trotted down the hall. "Sleeping in those wet clothes."

He listened and waited as she opened a closet, pushing jars, papers, and bags out of the way. When she came back, she held a department store bag in her hand, clearly full of what he could only guess was clothes.

She smiled and sat it by his side. "I had gotten them for you but…you wouldn't mind him borrowing them, would you?"

Jack smiled and shook his head, picking up a light blue t-shirt from the bag. "I don't mind, Tooth. Thank you."

Before he could say anymore, she walked into the bathroom. "Just tell me when you're done!" She called out. He nodded even though he knew she couldn't see him and carefully took the blanket off, setting it to the side. Man, was he a sight.

Everything seemed to stick to him; mud, clothes, hair. He looked like an absolute mess. But, nothing a wet cloth and towel couldn't fix. With a sigh, he stood up and made his way to the bathroom. Tooth was too busy preoccupying herself with the soaps carved into ducks and shells to see him wetting a facecloth with warm water, a dry towel in hand. He walked back into the living room and laid both on the arm of a chair, silently peeling the clothes off Hiccup.

Hiccup almost always wore long sleeved shirts and stayed as far away from shorts as possible. Unless he had to change for gym. Then, and only then would he wear short sleeves and shorts. And whenever he ran or did push ups, Jack was much too far away for him to see the other's bare limbs. Seeing them now made him smile. Freckles. Freckles everywhere. They covered almost every inch of his arms and seemed to thin out around his torso. His legs were soft and hairless. Jack couldn't tell if it was from shaving or if he was just naturally like that. Under his fingers, he felt fragile. He felt that if he moved in the wrong direction, if he pressed to hard on his skin, he might break a bone.

His fingers lingered above the waistline of Hiccup's boxers, his eyes focusing on his face. Thankfully, he was still fast asleep. Slowly letting out a breath, he began pulling down the thin fabric, trying to keep his hands steady. He allowed his eyes to travel lower; down his lightly rising and falling chest, over his belly button, and right to his hips. The boxers were halfway down, hardly showing anything. But, it still made him blush and tremble. His thumbs found their way to the little dents in Hiccup's hips. They were the only part of him that didn't seem frail. He pressed his thumbs in lightly, stroking the dents with slight care. Only when the brunet made a noise did he pull his hands away, throwing them behind his head.

In his sleep, the teen turned his back to him, his hands up to his chest. Jack sighed silently in relief and continued pulling the boxers off, replacing them with brand new ones. After washing the mud and dirt, he tried his hardest to put the rest of the pajamas on him. Every time he sat Hiccup up to put something on, he seemed to wince in pain. There were times when he was trying to put socks on him that he almost woke up. He would flail and almost fall on his back, taking note that he was very sensitive around the feet.

Putting the dirty, wet clothes in the bag, Jack knocked on the bathroom door. "Okay, Tooth. He's all washed, dry, and changed."

Tooth sighed from the other side of the door and walked out, smiling at him. "Thank you. Washer and drier are downstairs. Would you mind starting them up? I'll make us some hot chocolate."

She always offered him hot chocolate whenever he was over or sick. It was one of the many things he liked. Possibly the greatest thing he liked. With the biggest grin in the world, Jack ran downstairs, threw the bag in the washer, poured a bit of detergent in, and slammed the door closed, turning the dial as much as it could go. When he got back upstairs, Tooth hardly had the water heated, let alone boiled. So, he sat down on the floor and watched television. Cartoons to be exact; with the volume low so not to wake his friend.

She had to try her hardest not to burst out laughing. In a few months, he would be old enough to vote for the president and here he was, singing the theme song of a cartoon show softly. It truly made her wonder how much of a real childhood he got. If he did this after coming home from school, dancing around like she had whenever the theme song came on.

Tooth turned the stovetop down a notch, allowing Jack to watch his show. When it was over, she poured the water into the coco filled mugs and stirred with mint candy canes. North always brought them over, always having to have one when he visited. He said it reminded him of her since he used mint toothpaste at home.

Jack smiled and pulled the candy cane out of his mug, sucking on one end as he sat at the table with her. "Thanks again. For helping me find him and letting us stay here for the night."

"Oh, it's no problem at all, Jack." She smiled, taking a careful sip from her own mug. "I don't mind having company. Get's lonely here sometimes, you know?"

"Mmhmm. I know the feeling."

Tooth watched as he stirred his drink again, glancing over at Hiccup every few minutes or seconds, depending on if there was a noise or not. "Jack, you know you can always talk to me, right?"

"Yeah…yeah, I know."

There was something off in his voice, like he couldn't really trust her. It chilled her stomach which made her take a big sip of coco. The clock seemed to echo as time passed, their mugs becoming empty.

"Jack…" She finally whispered, trying not to jump him. It clearly didn't work. "I'm not going to run and tell Pitch anything if you say something to me. If you tell me something, it'll stay with me. Same with Aster. We're not the others and we're defiantly not Onyx. We're on your side."

Jack shifted in his seat, staring down at the small puddle of coco that became cold in his mug. "Tooth…"

"Yes?" She seemed to lean on the edge of her seat, not wanting to miss any word he might say.

He stayed like this for a while, just staring at his reflection, almost having a sort of battle with his other self. Taking a deep breath, he finally glanced at her. "Tooth, I…" He sighed. "I think I love him."

"Who? Pitch?"

"What?! No!"

"Then who?"

The teen slowly turned and stared at Hiccup. Staring at his parted lips, watching his chest rise and fall with his easy breathing. Tooth watched intently and smiled. Everything made sense now; volunteering to get close to him, being late on bringing the files in. It was to protect him.

"I see…And if Pitch knows, he'll hurt him." Jack looked up at her as she talked, his face twisted with sadness.

"Don't you worry, sweetie." She said and placed a hand on his. "You're secret is safe with me."

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**A/N: Because you know Jack would be all over hot chocolate and cartoons like ants to sugar. Also, white hot chocolate mixed with mint chocolate candy canes is amazing. Can't wait for winter. Actually, I think I can. It's cold in this library. So, yeah, not as sexy as I wanted it to be, but, bahhh. You try writing sexy things in a library. And now, a message to AlexJohnD - I'm sorry I didn't send it to you first, but I wanted to see you're reaction. And thanks. For you know, the thing on your fic. The ad. Yeah. Thanks. And the such. - ADAM**

**Reviews = Motivation = Chapters**

**P.S. Go read When Worlds Collide by The fabulous person I mentioned above. Because reasons and it's good. Now go my pretties! **


	16. Snowflakes

**A/N: Yeah, this chapter is short. Not much to say.**

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He felt his face heat up as he listened to Jack talk about how he got into the house and how he managed to get into clean, new clothes. The mug in his hands wasn't nearly as warm as his cheeks and ears felt, making him look down as he shuffled his feet. "You, uh…you undressed me?"

The seventeen year old nodded. "Yeah. But I didn't see anything, I promise. I'm not a pervert or anything like that." He chuckled.

Hiccup tried to send him a smile back, but, the corner of his mouth barely even twitched. Just the thought of someone else seeing his naked skin made him shiver. And as he shivered, he felt the side of his head begin to throb. With a shaking hand, he brushed hair off his small scar, trying his hardest to calm the slight pain.

He shook his head after a moment. "Alright. Well…thank you. Can you, uh…can you take me home? Please? I'm not feeling so well."

"Yeah, of course."

Jack stood up and helped the brunet onto his back. Last night, he didn't weigh that much and he was dripping wet. Now that he was drier than a desert, he truly was like a feather. He smiled slightly when the younger teen wrapped his arms around him, his head resting perfectly in the crook of his neck; almost as if they were puzzle pieces.

When he walked out and looked both ways, he tried to draw a map of the city in his head. A few blocks from Tooth's street was his old home and two blocks from there was Hiccup's. He began walking down the street, wondering if going left was the right way to go. It didn't matter much to him, really. He could hold Hiccup all day long and then some. But it'd be selfish of him to keep him in this condition. Hell, Jack could feel his fever against his neck. It wasn't too high but it wasn't low enough to be considered normal.

The puddles that had frosted over during the night crunched and cracked under his steps. It made him chuckle lightly like a child. It made him remember those times when they were children. He would always jump on the frosted puddles, laughing and trying to get the other to join him. But Hiccup never jumped on and tried to crush the ice with him. Instead, he tried to pull the older boy off so that he wouldn't fall through and catch a cold. Now here Jack was, pulling him along so that he wouldn't get any sicker. The times have changed and he wondered if they were for the better or worse. Part of him, if not all, believed it was for the worse. Hiccup had no memories of him and everything began to feel one sided. Jack had always pictured them sitting together, telling stories of how stupid they were as children, holding hands and still sharing kisses. But, now, he wondered if any of that was a possibility or would forever remain fantasy.

He felt his hands grip tighter onto the smaller boy as he walked up the Haddock's driveway. His legs stopped when he saw the other's bedroom window. Slowly, his feet began to turn and his knees tried to bend as if he was ready to make a run for it. Ready to run with him all the way back to what he called home so that he could take care of him. It wasn't until the cold, October wind blew up his spin that he was taken back to reality. Hiccup wouldn't ever get better in that damp, stone room with him. He hardly ever got better when he was sick in that place. With a sigh, he opened the window and carefully crawled in, laying the teen on his bed.

As he pulled the covers up to Hiccup's chest, he saw a pair of evergreen eyes open and stare at him sleepily. "Jack…? Did I fall asleep on your back again?"

Jack nodded and chuckled slightly. "Yeah, you did. That's alright, though. You're sick." He moved a few strands of hair out of the other's face as he smiled. "You get some rest now. I'll be over tomorrow because you still need to tell me how you got so banged up."

Hiccup sighed and looked out the window. "Alright." He muttered. Truthfully, he wanted to ignore the subject altogether for as long as he was alive. There was no telling what Jack would do if he found out what happened. "See you tomorrow."

The fifteen year old watched as his friend escaped out the window, closing it tightly as to not let in the cold. He stared out at the dying leaves for a moment or so before Toothless finally walked in, climbing in and curling himself up next to his master. Yawning, he petted the black lab and tried his best to fall asleep.

The clock began to play tricks with him. First it was around noon, possibly a few minutes after. Then it was around three o'clock. And now, it seemed to be six at night. He shook his head as he sat up, taking his alarm clock in hand. Did he really sleep almost all day? For a moment, he started cursing under his breath. That is, until he noticed that his head wasn't spinning and the need to roll over into a ditch was gone.

"Guess I really needed it." He whispered to Toothless who now sat happily at the foot of his bed.

The poor dog's tail began to wag uncontrollably as he watched his master lean over the edge of the bed and slip on his shoes. Whenever his human woke up and put his shoes on, it meant only one thing: he was going outside. When Hiccup turned around and smiled, he knew it was exactly that. Toothless jumped down, running as fast as he could toward the backdoor.

It took the boy a while to finally get to the backdoor. When he did, he coughed and allowed the over excited dog to run out and around the back yard. He flipped the porch light on, leaning against the wall as he looked up at the stars. There weren't that many stars out. Not as many as there were when he went up to camp during the summer. But, they were there and he enjoyed them nonetheless.

He closed his eyes and leaned his head back. Truthfully, the cold air felt good against his sweating forehead. Almost like a cold, wet, facecloth. It made him smile as he forced himself to think back to his mother. She had no face and her voice wasn't all there, altering during certain points, but he knew that it was her placing hot soup next to his bed. His mother mumbled something, making a tear fall down his face as he tried to place what the something was. 'I love you'? 'Get better soon' perhaps. His smile began to fall as he searched for more memories. Anything, really. Just something to help him think that there was a time before all this; before all the worries of colleges and jobs.

And there it was.

A single snowflake fell on his nose, making his entire body shiver. A bird chirped above him and made him open his eyes. It seemed familiar, almost as if he had seen the bird in a dream. He watched as it hopped on top of the porch light for a moment then fly off.

"_I like your dragon_." A small voice said off to the side.

Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "But I don't have a-" Turning around, he saw there was nobody there. Toothless was over by the tree, busy with other things. "…dragon."

The voice echoed in his head as he tried to place a face to it. It was clear, unlike the voices he usually heard when remembering people. He opened the backdoor and walked inside with his best friend; his eyes narrowed as he pictured a brown haired boy in his mind's eye. There was a slight laugh when he looked up at the window, watching snow slowly fall.

A single name tapped on the tip of his tongue and, with a horse whisper, he spoke it in question. "Jack…?"

* * *

He hated coming 'home' late. There was hardly anything scarier. The only thing scarier than the door shutting behind him and echoing off the bare, peeling paint walls was Onyx. Thankfully, she didn't seem to be in. There were no yellow eyes staring at him from the darkness that encased the room and it made him sigh in relief.

The only place in the entire abandoned factory that he felt safe in was his room. And there was nothing special about his room, either. Other than the fact that it was his, of course. A few crudely drawn childhood pictures hung on a few walls, a pair of shoes in the corner, and his stack of newspapers, cardboard, and pillows for a bed was all he could picture right now. It wasn't much, but it was all he had.

He could feel the safety the room held just by staring at the door. Jack lifted his hand and touched the warm doorknob. Wait. Warm doorknob? But…he hadn't touched it since yesterday.

With an angry expression, he opened the door and got ready for a fight. That is, until he saw Aster standing there, looking out the window. Part of him relaxed. The other part got ready to slap the Australian in the face.

"What are you doing here?" Jack asked and leaned against the doorframe.

Aster shrugged and looked at him. "Figured you'd wanna sleep in a real bed." He showed him his keys, walking out of the room. "Come on, Frostbite. I'm takin' ya home."

Jack stared at him for a moment. Why in the world was he being so nice? And why all of a sudden? With a shrug, he followed him outside and into the car he had gotten to know a lot better nowadays. When he had first turned fourteen, the man had offered to teach the teen to drive. It ended with him in the hospital, broken arm and all.

"So…what's all this about?" He finally asked, looking out the window.

Aster glanced over at him before turning down an unfamiliar street. "Tooth told me about you an' that kid."

His entire being froze. Everything as numb. And in that second, he truly was Jack Frost. The boy looked up at him with pleading eyes. If he was going to drown him, kill him an anyway, he wanted it to be done soon and quickly so he felt no pain. "She…she told you?"

He nodded. "Yup. She told me. An' only me."

Silence. Jack started internally swearing at the silence. Why was it always silent? Why couldn't there be a marching band outside so that he could pretend he didn't hear him? Jack hated the world. And he was pretty sure the world just hated him back, giving him silence instead of a band.

"So…you're gay, are ya?" Aster pulled up to a fast food restaurant, finally getting a good look at his even paler face.

Slowly, he nodded and tried to hide his face. "Yeah. I like guys."

The man leaned back in his seat and stared at the steering wheel. After a moment, he tapped his fingers along it and sighed. "Well, what can you do…"

"You're not mad?"

Aster removed the keys and placed them in his pocket. "Why would I be mad? You two haven't had sex, right?"

Jack's face instantly went red. "N-no."

He laughed at the boy's reaction and ruffled his hair. "Good. Remember, Jack, marriage before sex. Marriage before sex."

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**A/N: I always imagined Bunny being this sort of person that is like, "Dude, I don't give two yokes" and then buys you a beer. - ADAM**

**Reviews = Motivation = Chapters**


	17. Sessions

**A/N: Gah! This is so weird. Bah! I'm uploading this from my grandparent's computer. I transferred it over. Hopefully, they never find it. That'd be embarrassing. Anyway, on with this crap you all seem to love.**

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North smiled happily as he mixed a few drinks, handed people their meals, and joked around with a few others that sat up at the bar. It was early in the morning, nine o'clock to be exact; but that didn't stop his costumers from drinking a few mugs of beer. He looked around as he cleaned as glass and thought about what each person was going through.

A man sat in the back, work shirt unbuttoned at the top and bottom, tie hanging loosely around his neck like a noose. His five o'clock shadow stood out and made the yellow mustard on his chin stand out even more. A few dirt stains rubbed his shoulders. Perhaps he was in some sort of chase or maybe he had been bar jumping all night long. It would explain the bags under his eyes.

Someone else grabbed his attention after a moment; a group of college students. All looked to be just above twenty-one, all rowdy, and all looking to get drunk right off. One of the boys carried a black eye and one of the girls had messy hair. He had a few things in mind that made him chuckle, but, he quickly erased them. Sometimes, it was better _not_ to get into other's personal lives.

His smile grew into a grin when the door to the Blue Goose opened. Of course, it was normal for it to open, but the person who opened it turned his grin into an all out laugh of happiness. It wasn't everyday he saw his friend walk into the bar.

"Sandy!" He bellowed, making heads turn to the newcomer. "It has been long time old friend!"

Sandy smiled and climbed himself onto the bar stool, watching as North made his usual orange juice and hot wings. The thirty-five year old was short with dirty blond hair that was neatly combed up into neat little spikes; a hair style he had had since he was a child. Sanderson, or Sandy as his friends preferred, was plump in a way. His stomach extended but it wasn't gross or misshaped. In fact, it looked like he had just a few extra suits on. His fingers weren't that plump at all. A little stubby, yes, but they moved swiftly like the fingers of a piano man. He straightened up his yellow tie and nodded a thank you when his odd breakfast was ready.

Sandy placed his suitcase and rather large file on the counter top, quickly nibbling on his mild wings. Which was a huge mistake on his part for, you see, North was like a child. A child on Christmas morning. Anything that caught his interest even the slightest made him itch with wonder. As he served his other customers, he couldn't help but look over at the file every chance he could. Even from across the room, he stared helplessly like a puppy dog.

Finally, the curiosity got the best of him and he opened the thick manila folder. Inside were many written papers, a few drawings, and the most recent picture of the child it was on. Freckled face, anxious green eyes, brown hair, red highlights. He frowned at the picture and read the name bellow it.

"Hamish Horrendous Haddock the third?" Sandy shook his head and flipped the picture over, revealing the name everyone used for the boy. "Hiccup? Why would they call him Hiccup?" North asked even though he knew his friend could not answer.

Nicholas and Sanderson had been friends since about the second grade when a group of kids began picking on Sandy for his weight. North quickly stepped in to save the boy and the two became instant friends. They were practically perfect for each other; North acted as the hands while Sandy acted as the brains. The two would help each other with school projects, comfort one another when the times got back, and laughed with each other when the times got great. Wherever one went, the other was soon to follow. So, when North told Sandy he was moving to America, Sandy was right next to him on the plane. Both quickly found jobs and moved in together in a very nice house. But, their time together in that house was short lived. After about half a year, Sandy became more…detached from North. He hardly came home at decent hours and when he did, some of the time, he was covered in blood. Sandy didn't tell him where it came from. He would just smile and tell him he was out with some friends and they were just being stupid.

The real trouble came one night when North received a phone call from the hospital. Even though he was angry with his friend, he couldn't stay at home. He made a mad dash to the car and drove as fast as he could, almost running over a few people in the process. Somehow, Sandy had been stabbed in the throat. Nobody knew how. Not even Aster or Tooth who sat by his best friend's side.

North shook the memory from his mind and watched as Sandy did the same. With a shrug, he placed the file back on the counter and leaned against it, speaking in a whisper. "What is wrong with the Hiccup boy?"

Just as he tried to explain through pencil and paper, the watch on his wrist beeped. Time to start his morning appointments. North sighed and grabbed the rest of the hot wings, popping them into a small take-out bag. "Take glass. Come back later."

Sandy smiled and nodded, taking his glass of juice(as well as his other things) and headed out the door. The smallish man jumped into his smallish car and drove to his office which wasn't that far.

When he pulled up, he watched as his first patient, Hiccup, walk in with a very peculiar friend. White hair, untied shoes, wrinkled and torn pants…and something that poked out of his pocket. A hospital mask? He shook his head and quickly walked out of the car, heading into his office with a bright smile and light feet. Sitting down at his desk, he smiled graciously at his patient and took a good look at his companion.

The other teen clearly wore contacts and his hair was dyed white, his brown roots showing. His shoes were on the wrong feet and his eyes continued to shift, as if he was searching for an exit to the room. Sandy knew this look. He knew the feeling of being trapped, the feeling of never truly being safe. And that mask he had seen earlier…

"I'm sorry, Mr. Sanderson." Hiccup apologized. "This is Jack. He's my friend. I couldn't shake him off on my way here."

Jack nodded toward Sandy. "You the nut doctor?"

He nodded with a smile, pulling a pen and paper from his desk. It was a strange way of putting it and Hiccup did slap his shoulder, almost ordering him to apologize, but, Sandy understood. Teenagers will be teenagers.

"I'm sorry about him." He said, doing the work for his friend. "Pretty sure he was dropped on his head as a baby."

"I wasn't dropped…" Jack crossed his arms. "My mother…when she put me in my little swing…would accidentally hit my head against the bar…."

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "I'm _sure_ they were all accidents and _not_ because she was sick of your stupidity." He smiled proudly at himself as his friend slid down his seat, keeping quiet.

"Anyway, nothing has really happened. Other than getting a new friend." He spoke to his therapist softly.

Sandy lightly touched a part of his own head in the same spot the teen would have his scar. Hiccup shook his head and lightly touched it. "No…no, no memory of that day still. But…I can see her a little more. I can't really see her face, but, I can see her hair and her clothes. I can sometimes hear her talk."

Jack relaxed as he listened, slowly sitting up. Was this all they did was talk? And why didn't the nut doc say anything back? It confused him greatly, but, he listened and watched his friend start to look about as confused as he felt.

The brunet's face twisted as he shook his head. "And…and there are other memories. Not of my mother or of my family. But…I think it's a boy. He comes in through my window."

The older teen readjusted himself as his eyes went wide. Hiccup continued. "I heard his voice loud in clear." He chuckled and looked up at Sandy. "It was almost as if the boy was right behind me."

Sandy stared at him and motioned him to continue. "He said…'I like your dragon'."

Jack stood up. The movement was so sudden and quick and unexpected, both of them stared up at him, waiting for him to say or do something important. But all he did was stare at his friend, mouth open and eyes wide. It was like he was in a state of shock. The weirdest state of shock any of them had ever seen. Slowly, his mouth closed and he sat down, pulling out his mask and twisting it in his fingers.

The three of them sat there in silence; Hiccup and Sandy staring at Jack, Jack staring at his mask.

Hiccup raised an eyebrow and continued talking to his doctor about smaller issues. About seeing Astrid again, about the party, about trying out for the football team even though sports weren't his favorite. And all the while, he would glance down at his friend to see if _he_ was alright.

"Jack?" He said when there were ten minutes left on the clock. "Do you want to let some stuff out?"

The seventeen year old looked at him then up at Sandy. After a moment of awkward staring, he looked back down and stood up, slipping the mask into his pocket. "Nahh. What would talking about my problems do anyway? Besides, I shouldn't be complaining. After all, there is always someone out there who has it worse than I do." He smiled at Hiccup and pushed him playfully. "I know you have it worse than me."

The brunet rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Yeah, okay, I guess."

As they both began walking out, something grabbed hold of Jack's sleeve. At first, he thought it was Hiccup. That is, until he walked right past him and out into the hallway. With a raised eyebrow, he looked down at what tugged at his sweatshirt to see Sandy standing there, a card in his hand. He lifted his small arm up and looked at him with the most concerned face he had ever seen. And Jack was friends with Tooth, a woman who was concerned about his well being everyday. He took the card, nodded, and placed it in his pocket.

Sandy watched as the teens left the building, walking out into the not so harsh autumn cold. He sat at his desk, his head leaning against the window behind him. The two were now tiny dots on the sidewalk, but, he continued to watch. He knew his patient's friend was in pain. The same pain that haunted him a few years back.

* * *

It was a rather long walk from Mr. Sanderson's building. The two had walked about seven blocks to the bottom of a hill, up and over the hill, and about four more blocks to get there. Now, even though it was a downhill trip, it seemed longer than the walk uphill.

About half way back, Jack noticed something. "Hey, why aren't you wearing the sweatshirt I gave you?"

"Hm?" Hiccup looked up at him. "Well, it got dirty."

"_So_?!"

"So, it needed to be washed."

"You could have just whipped it off."

Hiccup looked at him angrily. "Well, that would have left a stain. That thing has so many stains on it that one more and it wouldn't have been presentable!"

"Good lord!" Jack exclaimed and threw his arms up over his head. "You're so stingy about clothes! Hell, you don't even fucking dress proper!"

"That's because I want to stay _hidden_ in the back of the classroom!"

"Why in the fucking world would you want to stay hidden!?" Jack stopped them, standing in front of his friend. "Don't you know how amazing and talented you are!? Stop being so fucking selfish and grow some damn balls!"

Hiccup pushed past him and continued down the hill, ignoring the honks and shouts for the fight to continue. There were also some shouts from a nearby car full of rowdy freshmen calling out names such as 'fag' and other things he couldn't hear clearly. What he _could_ hear, though, was Jack yelling back at them and running toward him, calling out his name.

"Hiccup! Hiccup, wait!"

Finally, he stopped and looked up at the older teen who panted, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Hiccup, listen, I'm sorry okay? Just…you just don't know how amazing you are and it hurts that you don't see it yourself."

He shrugged. "I guess-"

"Hey. Let me make it up to you." Jack smiled. "Let me take you out. To the Halloween festival, that is. It started today, didn't it?"

Hiccup nodded.

"Then, let's go. My treat."

* * *

**A/N: Sandy is introduced! And he makes a wonderful therapist. A very good listener, indeed. - ADAM**

**Reviews = Motivation = Chapters**


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